Sophomore Ciara Woida walks through the halls, wondering why all the door frames are suddenly a different color.

“I was confused as to why all the door frames were being painted black,” Woida said. “I think the painting isn’t worth it.”

According to Principal Scott Meyers, a larger project for maintenance exists, starting with the black paint.

“Some of the black paint that you see going up is part of a bigger plan,” Meyers said. “We’re trying to do some of the updating in segments.”

According to Meyers, renovations will occur throughout the years to come and include more than painting the doors, with help from facilities manager Tom Bravo.

“Our school is an old building and it’s been in need of some updating, so through our new facilities manager, Tom Bravo, we have been working on a plan to start some of those projects over time,” Meyers said.

Bravo began his job six months ago and has since worked on various projects throughout the district.

Bravo said he wants to incorporate school colors to boost school spirit and hopes to use safe materials throughout the process.

“One of the things I wanted to do is to bring school pride back in with the colors,” Bravo said. “We are using low VOC, volatile organic compounds-paints, which contain less chemicals. What we want to do is make improvements to give the students a better environment.”

According to Meyers, funding for the projects comes from the maintenance budget. He said organization for the budget has improved from the past.

“It’s maintenance money that we are supposed to use over time,” Meyers said. “Some of the projects weren’t as coordinated in the past, but now we are working on more long-term visual projects.”

Some renovations have already happened or are in the works, such as a new sound board in the auditorium and the athletic stadium, which received a grant from Hennepin County, according to Meyers.

“There was a grant that we received to do renovations to our athletic stadium,” Meyers said. “We had a new sound board updated in the auditorium as well.”

However, Woida said she believes the money could warrant a more beneficial use.

“I think they could use it for better things,” Woida said. “They could use the money for new computers in the Media Center.”

Bravo said he has confidence in the plan for renovations of the high school.

“I’ve done this for 30 years, and I feel we are being fiscally responsible and that we are using taxpayers’ money responsibly,” Bravo said.