Meryl Alalof visited Lakeside High School Sept. 3 with a sense of nostalgia.
“I have a lot of memories,” said Alalof, who was Lakeside’s associate principal when the school opened in 1988 and was eager to see all the upgrades to the school that were unveiled to the public after a ribbon cutting ceremony in the school’s new auditorium.
The building project is part of a “very vigorous and aggressive 10-year building plan that had its genesis in 2022. Shortly after Dr. (Steven) Flynt, our superintendent arrived, he undertook the process of evaluating our facilities,” said David Dekle, Columbia County school board chairman.
Construction isn’t always a smooth process and building onto a school while classes are in session presented its own unique set of challenges and inconveniences, according to assistant superintendent Penny Jackson.
Traffic patterns changed – sometimes as many as three times during a semester.; there were unexpected water leaks, false fire alarms going off and lots of shifting of students, faculty and staff. While work was done to create a new administrative space, the entire front office staff moved into a single classroom.
“Now, here we are in about 326,109 square feet of beautiful architecture, safe and creative learning environments, competitive spaces and the ability to watch our wonderful teachers and staff inspire learning in a state of the art facility,” said Jackson.
Upgrades to the school include a new 37,500 square foot performing arts wing on the west end with a 500-seat theater, broadcast video product lab, band, chorus, orchestra, ceramics and visual arts classrooms, according to the Smallwood architectural firm’s website. Smallwood created the project’s design.
On the school’s east wing, there is a glass tower main entrance with administrative suite, which connects to a 12,400 square foot common area and a 6,100 square foot media center.
Also, there is a new 2,130 seat competitive gymnasium on the campus’s northside.
“The vision of the Columbia County School District is to lead the nation in educational excellence, where each student is engaged, enriched and inspired. That wasn’t from me. That was from you and our greater community,” said Flynt. “And what we’re doing now is putting the plan in action and seeing our great employees make that happen. and our great students having great success in that.”
Facility upgrades are planned for the county’s other high schools.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter
