Groundbreaking set for this week at State High | Centre Daily Times

The shovels may go into the dirt this week, but crews won’t officially start construction on the State College Area High School project until the summer.

At 4 p.m. Thursday, State College Area School District will hold a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the launch of the new high school project.

The celebration will be held on the O’Bryan Lane side of the South Building, and will be open to the public.

School board members and district administration will address the public, then grab ceremonial shovels for a series of photos, district spokesman Chris Rosenblum said.

Community supporters, including Mimi Barash-Coppersmith, chairwoman and founder of The Foundation for Mount Nittany Medical Center, and Betsy Whitman, with Friends of State High, will be among the invited guests.

State Reps. Scott Conklin and Richard Irvin will be in attendance, along with a representative from Sen. Jake Corman’s office, Rosenblum said.

The State High marching band will also play.

Phase one site work around the South Building will start this summer.

Before school resumes, workers will build a loop road to the back of the South Building, “which will be the main entrance in the fall, because construction will take over the front parking lot,” Rosenblum said in an email.