Ellis High School, in conjunction with the USD 388 Education Foundation, is holding a fundraiser. The school district is constructing a new 8,000+ square foot building which will house a weight lifting and practice room.  The goal of the fundraising effort, appropriately called “Raise the Bar”, is to raise $80,000 to lay flooring and buy new weightlifting equipment for the building to provide a safer environment for students.

Principal Corey Burton told Hays Post that there are currently two locations used for weight lifting: a weight room at the old high school (which has mold and leak issues) and a couple rack systems located in the gym.  The equipment in the gym has to be pulled off to the side when the gym is used to host an event, but students still risk running into it out of bounds.

Burton said that the new practice room is going to be used for wrestling initially because the former wrestling facility was also having mold and leak issues.  The floor joists were also cracking and it was determined the facility was unsafe for students to practice there.

Currently, wrestling practice is being held in the gym.  Burton said that because so many teams and groups now have to share gym space, practice times are being staggered in odd ways.  For this reason, the goal is to get the wrestlers into the new facility right after Christmas to help normalize practice times.  Burton added that the new facility won’t just be for wrestlers.

“Our kids will be able to access it during the school day for our weights class and P.E. classes, and it’s also open to the community after school hours….We have a group through the rec that does some gymnastics, I’m sure they’re going to end up using that facility.  I wouldn’t be surprised if our cheerleaders don’t use it some in some of the stunting they do for practice.”

Raise the Bar will run from December 1st through March 1st, which will allow for equipment to be ordered and delivered in time for the summer weight program.  For more information or to make a donation, visit the Raise the Bar website or call 785-726-4281.