Renovation Work Continues At Future Mayo School In Tulsa

The year is just about over for Tulsa Public schools - and when school reopens - a couple of schools will be in new locations.

Tulsa Public Schools continues to reshape the district and one of the big moves that's coming this fall is Mayo to Wilson, which was closed last year.

Monday, we've got the first pictures of the demolition that's underway at Wilson.

Rick Henrie is project manager for the total renovation at Wilson Middle School. In just 21 days, his workers have gutted the building - and now they're rebuilding the inside for the new location of Mayo Demonstration School.

The biggest change at Wilson is removing walls that divided classrooms. In places, 3 or 4 classrooms will be combined.

"There are a lot of walls in the interior corridors but not too many in the classrooms," Henrie said.

Every slight change to make it more open means cutting through thick brick and plaster walls. All of the changes are inside - so the outside of the building remains intact.

"I think the nostalgia of just the building itself, keeping the structure, cause on the outside it's going to look like an old building, but on the inside, it's going to be a modern building," Henrie said.

For 20 years, Mayo school has been an exercise in an open classroom concept. It's a popular program that could fill a much larger space - in a more central location - which prompted the move and allowed the expansion.

The $3.2 million renovation hit every surface of the old building top to bottom. There's 75,000 square feet to redo with new plumbing and electrical - and a modern fire sprinkler system. The deadline to do it all is August 1.

"Since we're doing 2 - 10 hour shifts, it's like working twice as much," Henrie said. "It's going to be tight, going to be close."

The cost of the renovation comes out of bond money - so that's not something that could be put back into the classroom.

The expansion will allow more parents to enroll their children in Mayo, which is now in an overcrowded building - which TPS plans to put up for sale.

05/06/2012 Related Story: Alumni Gather To Say Goodbye To Mayo Demonstration Academy