Long overdue and extremely welcome renovations will happen this summer at Grimsley High School. Though the school is No. 30 on the list of Guilford County schools to be fixed up, Grimsley is getting a headstart, with surface-level renovations beginning this year. 

 

The county finally will revamp bathrooms in the Main, Old Science, and Vocational buildings! Crumbling walls also will receive attention, and there are plans to fix the air conditioning in classrooms with AC units under the windows. 

 

Two years ago, Guilford County Commissioners toured Grimsley with the intent of finding out what needed to be done. The result? Commissioners deemed Grimsley the worst school they had seen, according to a Fox8 News report. 

 

“When you pass by this road, and you see this magnificent campus, you think everything is great, but until you go inside, then you will be amazingly disappointed,” said County Chairman Skip Alston. 

 

Grimsley was determined a top priority, but there had been no update on renovation progress until now. 

 

In 2020 and 2022, Guilford County voters approved bonds totaling $2 billion to build new schools and renovate or replace many schools in the county. Next door, Kiser Middle School is already receiving the benefits of these bonds, being completely rebuilt on both Grimsley and Kiser land. 

 

Grimsley’s full renovation is expected to cost around $50 million, but the school is getting a head start as of this summer. These plans have high standards to fulfill for students and teachers alike. 

 

Sylvia DiRosa-Taylor, a freshman, has come up with many more ideas for Grimsley renovation in her short time here, including a deep clean, new fans, windows, and doors, as well as menu refurbishing. 

 

‘‘Having a clean and renovated environment, including the bathrooms and classrooms, will help foster a greater attention to learning and a better environment,” she said. “This is nicer for the students, the teachers, and everyone involved.”

 

“I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s long overdue,” said Mrs. Requel Howard, a Spanish teacher. “I just hope that…Guilford County Schools provides the resources to maintain the new stuff over the course of time, because it’s fine to put in new stuff, but if you don’t keep it up and clean it and maintain it…it doesn’t do any good if you’re just going to neglect it.”

Other teachers echo this sentiment, including Mrs. Lisa Mortenson, a social studies teacher.  

 

“We are going to keep using old buildings, which is wonderful for historic tradition, but we have to put in money to maintain them,” she said. “They’ve added electricity, they’ve added internet stuff - they should be able to maintain plumbing.”