OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, Fla. — Okeechobee High School has a brand-new building — 250,000 square feet, room for up to 1,700 students, and a $107 million price tag paid for entirely by federal COVID-19 funding.
Superintendent Dylan Tedders gave WPTV a tour of the new facility on Thursday, highlighting what makes it a major upgrade from the previous high school, which was built in the 1960s.
The new building features 85 classrooms and will be the first time all of Okeechobee's high school students can learn from the same campus. Previously, freshmen attended a separate campus.
"Now we have 9-12 together at the high school. We had a separate freshman campus before, so the gym is big enough to seat 1,900 people. The auditorium is big enough to seat a full class at 500 seats," Tedders said.
The science labs are among the building's standout features, equipped with modern technology and infrastructure designed to support advanced coursework.
"This is a standard science lab. Unique to this lab is that it has gas and water, so it's going to be for the chemistry courses. The technology is up to date now, so if we wanted to host dual enrollment classes on this campus. We have, now, the facility that we can do that," Tedders said.
Flexible learning spaces are also built into the design, including walls where students can write with dry-erase markers and areas with varied furniture options.
"We're going to have all different types of furniture where they can sit and enjoy the learning or just come in and enjoy the books," Tedders said.
The building also showcases Brahman pride, with school colors lining the walls and images of the mascot displayed throughout.
The school district says it has seen an outpouring of excitement from the Okeechobee community about the new building. Plans are in the works to welcome the public inside for an event halfway through the school year, once the parking lot is complete.
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