MHS old gymnasium gets final send off from community

By Jacob Sturm
[email protected]

Decades of shared memories were relived Thursday evening when past and present members
of the Mustang community reminisced inside the old MHS Gymnasium for one final time.

The building, which has held many significant moments of Mustang High Schools past, is set to
be demolished as part of the newest round of MHS Expansion that voters approved as part of a
bond in 2023.

Charles Bradley, the Superintendent of Mustang Public Schools, spoke to the significance the
building has had on the district.

“The building itself, you know, it’s just brick and concrete,” Bradley said. “What actually makes
it special is what we saw there tonight (April 11) (which) was the memories and the
relationships since this building was built… It’s done nothing but serve the community and built
a tradition and legacy for Mustang that we’re able to continue with another building. So, we
definitely wanted to honor that and just give people that opportunity to come in there one last
time, have some closure and laugh with some friends. So, that was very important to us that
our community was able to just say good bye to it.”

Bradley said moving forward, the building will serve the needs of the students now and
eventually become another cafeteria and full kitchen to help condense the lunches back to 2-3
each day if the district can make it work.

There will also be two gyms serving as practice gyms, and will also account for some additional
classroom space.

“This area will go to serve the needs of the high school as growth continues,” Bradley said.

Bradley reiterated that the district does not enjoy tearing down buildings at all. He said the first
thought process is finding how to convert the buildings so they can add to them.

As for the old gym’s instance, Bradley said the structure was built for an intended purpose, and
that what MPS clearly needs now is not close to a gym. That, and the identified needs of the
district, led to the decision. Bradley said the plan is to incorporate parts of the gym into the new
building as a way to commemorate the old building in the future.

Once school is let out for the Summer, crews will come out and begin the asbestos abatement
process for the structure. Bradley said that process generally takes between two weeks and a
month for the abatement process, and estimated the demolition to take place in mid-to-late
June.

The MHS expansion project will start as early as July assuming things remain on schedule.
Bradley, and Dr. Jason Pittenger, shared words with the attendees of the event early in the
process as the community was allowed to come and go throughout the evening.