New Philadelphia, Ohio (WJER) - New Philadelphia school officials say their field house on East High Avenue is quickly becoming a shared educational space for the district’s youngest students. Superintendent David Brand says contractors are finishing up second-floor renovations at the Quaker Dome to turn the current office spaces into four preschool classrooms for next year’s students. He says it’s convenient to have a district-owned building serve as their preschool after Starlight schools took back their space as they undergo reprogramming. 

“It just enhances the dome that the community donated,” he says. “It just continually grows and adds to the overall school experience.” 

Brand says work is coming along smoothly and on time, and he says the space looks like it will be ready to handle their class sizes.

“Throughout the day in the various ways about 200 pre-schoolers,” he says. “The construction phase and all of the permits and what not will be cleared by the first of August, and then we’ll be good to go.”

The district’s board of education this past week transferred $200,000 from the preschool fund and $203,000 from the general fund into the dome project fund. 

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