The entire student body, staff, school board and more were on hand last Thursday morning at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Lomega High School.

The new facility is being constructed just south of the current high school in Omega.

The current school was built in the 1960s.

“If everything goes well, the completion date is January 2021,” said Superintendent Steve Shiever. “That’s assuming we don’t have the rain like we did this year or any other major weather events.”

Voters approved the 33,000 square-foot facility by passing a $15.4 million bond issue Feb.

12. The bond issue passed 123-82, receiving exactly the 60 percent super-majority necessary.

The school will have 13 classrooms, including three that would also double as tornado-safe rooms that meet FEMA standards.

A new facility would also include a secured main entry vestibule.

The new building would also include a stage area near the dining room, a dining space that would double as assembly seating for stage viewing, a backstage area that would double as classroom space, STEM and science lab with outdoor learning space, special needs classroom and other offices, restrooms and storage areas.

The bond issue also allows for remodeling of the gym at the elementary school in Loyal.

That will include new boys and girls locker rooms that will meet current codes and replacing the current bleachers with fixed chair-back seating and a section of retractable bleachers.

The existing northeast locker room space will be converted into gymnasium floor space with retractable bleachers.

The other locker rooms will be converted into storage underneath the bleachers.

That work is expected to begin after Spring break in 2020, Shiever said.

Representatives from Renaissance Architects, the firm handling the architectural designs, and Joe D. Hall General Contractors, the district’s construction manager, were on hand for the ceremony.

Joining Shiever and the rest of the staff and students were school board members Matt Oppel, Terry Marks, Cherie Ingram, Justin Glazier and Julie Myers.