Holt high school has been around for a long time, being founded in 1896 it has been around for over 100 years. The current building has been around since 1974. With such an old building you may wonder how the building itself is holding up over all those years. Our custodians and janitors have done a great job, but they can only do so much to stop the affects of time and wear on the school.

“I think the school does have some problems like dents in the walls and paint peeling off the lockers”, Tanner Blecle said.

It’s true that some lockers are being stripped of paint and that the walls have had their fair share of dents and bruises. Some other problem areas stated were that things were falling apart. One notable example of this was a fire exit sign that fell off the roof on the top floor of the building. Luckily no one was hurt, but if the hallway was crowded at that time it could have resulted in a serious injury. Holt is in need of some serious renovations, and fast, if it is to keep up its status as a school that can be safely learned in. However, it may not be as “gloom and doom” as it may seem.

“I think that the school has held up pretty well for its age, the layout and design still looks good”, Caden Gierer (’23) said.

That seems to be a common consensus between some students, liking the layout and design. Holt is designed in a way that most, if not all, of the hallways connect to each other. This was done in an effort to limit congestion and for the most part, it has worked. Of course, there are places where congestion is inevitable notably by staircases that have heavy traffic. Most students also think that the school looks good on the outside and inside. Most students I talked to agree that they like the frequent use of blue on the inside and brown on the outside.

Holt has had some damages and is undoubtedly in need of a few touch-ups here and there, but for the most part, it seems that the students don’t think that there are any major problems with the school in its cleanliness and layout. Most students say that the layout allows them to talk with their friends in the hallways and get to class on time. This is in part due to how the classes are grouped together.

Classes are also designed to be grouped together by subject. For example, all foreign language classes are in one hall grouped together so it is easy for students to know where everything is. However, there are of course outliers. One of these outliers is the classes right next to the lunchroom. These classes undoubtedly suffer from the noise coming from the cafeteria and may even impact the grades in those classes.

Even with all the problems we may have, our janitors understatedly have done an exceptional job keeping the school clean and safe. However, time takes its toll on all and we are no exception. Holt needs a makeover if it is to compete with other schools in the area and continue teaching students.