The sounds of drills and screws disrupt learning for teachers in the math hallway where the wrestling room once resided. These sounds began after years of waiting for the proper district funds to move the former wrestling room to the new gym and replace the open space with new classrooms.
“We talked about moving the wrestling room even before we got the new space,” RBHS athletic director Jennifer Mast said. “We’ve always wanted more classroom space in that area of the building.”
Given the opportunity to begin the move, some construction already began. Little bangs and knocks sound off here and there, causing disturbances for teachers near the work site.
“Construction has just started interrupting my class,” math teacher Kevin Taylor said, “but I understand it has to get done at the same time.”
Minor demolition projects began last week, and major construction is taking place over spring break. The area of the new classrooms consists of four new classrooms and one smaller room, either to be used as storage or for teachers’ aids, all located north of the current bathrooms. The new area will take away from the math lab, currently located in the back of the hallway on the northeast side.
“I’m really, really sad about losing the math lab,” Taylor said. “My statistic class uses it all the time.”
Along with teachers growing accustomed to changes, the wrestlers learn to cope with the change as well. The new wrestling room is located under the auxiliary gym and is a room of its own.

Wrestlers began practicing in their new room the second week of January. Used mats from the University of Missouri-Columbia wrestling room lie on the floor temporarily until higher quality mats arrive to replace the old. The new room is roughly the same size and is described as more comfortable by junior wrestler Sam Crane.

“It’s a positive change because now we have one of the nicest wrestling rooms in the state,” Crane said. “On top of that, the circulation of air is a lot better … in the old room it was just really dry air; it was hot.”

The new, official mats will arrive by summer break, when the finishing touches will be added to the new room. Construction in the math hallway will end about the time the mats arrive. While teachers affected in different ways from the construction learn to cope with the future changes for the rest of the semester, wrestlers have a new room all to themselves.

“Its definitely positive,” junior wrestler Jason Kiehne said, “because we have more space … so we don’t hit each other.”
By Maribeth Eiken and Justin Sutherland