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New student life center is second major project in UTHS history

The district is thanking the one-cent sales tax increase for making the $9.5 million project possible.
New Student Life Center

EAST MOLINE, Illinois-- United Township High School is getting a much-needed update. A groundbreaking ceremony marked the official start of construction on a new student life center for the nearly 60-year-old building.

"We've been working on this now for over a year," Superintendent Jay Morrow said. "The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive."

This is the second major construction project in the school's history. Before this project, there was an addition added to the high school back in 1990 after the district's campus closed in Silvis.

The district is thanking the one-cent sales tax increase for making the $9.5 million project possible. That sales tax increase went into effect back in 2016.

Bush Construction has already started work on the center. It said it's been installing electrical lines and underground plumbing.

The student life center means a new, secure entrance to the building. There will also be a new common area where students can work together and collaborate, along with a new library and media center.

"Our library was original 1960 construction," Morrow said. "And we needed some additional spaces for kids to work collaboratively as well as to meet new technology needs in the 21st Century."

Construction will last a little over a year. Administrators hope the center will be open for the school year in fall 2019.

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