New areas provide career opportunities, added facilities

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

A project years in the making has given Exeter students new spaces for weightlifting, agricultural education, career exploration and band, also providing the district facilities designed to serve students long into the future.

Exeter Superintendent Tim Jordan said the project grew out of conversations that began about a decade ago regarding the district’s long-term needs.

“The idea was we really needed a place where our kids could lift weights in a safe place instead of traveling across campus to go do that outside in a building,” Jordan said.

At the same time, Exeter’s band and music programs were growing, while the agriculture department was operating in an aging facility.

“The old ag shop and classroom was just really getting outdated, and so we needed a safer and better place for them to have classes and do all the different activities that they are doing,” Jordan said.

The district ultimately received voter approval for a no-tax-levy-increase bond, providing $2.5 million in bond funding for the project. The district also used approximately $600,000 through a lease purchase and $400,000 saved in its capital projects fund. The total cost of the project was just under $3.5 million.

Jordan said the district had been preparing for the project for years by saving money in its capital projects fund.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve really been working, through [former superintendent Ernest Raney’s] leadership, and then he kind of talked through with me, just saving some funds in our fund for capital projects to make sure when we got to this point we could do what was really needed for the district,” Jordan said.

The project has added significantly more space for the agriculture program, including areas for welding and woodworking, as well as opportunities to expand into other areas. Jordan said the district is looking at adding automotive and agricultural science opportunities, including work with plants and animals.

“We’re going to be adding some ag science, so adding that side of it where we can actually do some of the plants and animal things with the area that we have there,” he said. “And then just enhancing some of the woodworking and the welding that they had already started doing.”

The new facilities also allow Exeter students to explore career options before they reach high school. Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students have access to the building through exploratory classes, where they can learn about agriculture, FFA and other opportunities available to them.

Jordan said that exposure can help students determine whether they want to pursue a particular career path.

“Some of it they can just do here all the time, but it’s just that same idea of just getting them started and interested in something that’s going to turn into a career,” he said.

Jordan said the district’s philosophy has increasingly focused on preparing students for careers as well as college.

“What is it that you want to do with your life, and then let’s find a way to make that happen,” he said.

The project also includes a new band room, which was not part of the original plan. As space became available for another classroom, district officials decided to create a larger room for the growing band program. The former music room can now be used for other district needs.

New restrooms were also added and can serve as locker rooms for visiting teams during home athletic events. The facilities provide teams with a place to meet with coaches before games before entering the gymnasium through a new entrance.

The district began construction in July 2025, initially focusing on groundwork and moving overhead electrical lines. Barry Electric worked with the district to move the lines around the ball fields underground, which Jordan said improved safety during construction and provided a cleaner appearance.

Construction was substantially completed in May, around the time of graduation, although smaller projects continued through June and July.

Jordan said students were eager to begin using the new facilities.

“They were so excited,” he said. “Like last year, you could start seeing the buzz starting to build, and then as it finally got finished, they were just dying to get out there.”

Some students participated in weightlifting during the summer, while others expressed interest in joining programs such as band.

“I’ve heard some kids say, ‘Hey, I want to go do band now,’ or, ‘I want to be involved in that,’” Jordan said.

Jordan said the district wants students to remain active and involved, and he believes the new facilities can help accomplish that goal.

The community also has responded positively to the completed project, Jordan said. Voters provided strong support for the bond issue, and community members who attended the district’s open house have continued to offer positive feedback.

“It was a very high percentage of the voting that was yes,” Jordan said. “But then, in follow-up, as they’ve seen the pictures and they’ve come to the facility, is just very positive and supportive of the school district.”

Jordan said the project is part of a broader effort to improve Exeter, rather than an isolated undertaking.

Over the past several years, the district has worked on improvements including roads around the district and a playground, along with the new facilities.

Jordan credited Raney with helping establish the long-term planning that made the improvements possible.

He also said the improvements are also contributing to a renewed sense of pride in the district.

“There was a time where people didn’t want to be at Exeter or would talk down about Exeter,” he said. “We’re starting to hear that pride again, and that’s good to hear over the last several years.”