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The school opened in 1997 with a $100 Million dollar price tag but many of the facilities have been unusable for several years due to maintenance issues.

$6-7 million in ARRA funding is expected to be spent on the school in the coming year, with a contract already signed for the renovations of the performing arts center and another contract for gym repairs expected to be awarded soon.

“As I talk to these students about doing their best to succeed I am very conscience of the fact that they're walking into an environment where they would hope to see some attention, and some investment back into their overall environment so that its welcoming,” Department of Education Superintendent Jon Fernandez said Wednesday.

Fernandez cautions that DOE needs to address maintenance and management issues before the projects are completed, so that history does not repeat itself.

"Part of it is just general upkeep, part of it is to address the specific issues that affected these facilities include the termites" Fernandez said during a discussion with island media. "In addition to that just in the maintenance plan is also thinking through the broader plan for usage of the facilities.  So obviously if you walked through you understand, this isn't just a high school auditorium but its something I think was intended to and we think still can benefit the broader island community.  So we are really committed to starting those discussion today, now before the work really gets going."

DOE is still uncertain about its plans for the school's Olympic size pool as Fernandez says a pool comes with added maintenance and liability issues.

“So we need to think through that, its a more complex project and then we'll make a decision about how to move forward very shortly,” Fernandez said.

According to Fernandez DOE is also moving forward with plans to have the 5,000 Wing at SHS renovated with ARRA dollars.