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Jeremy DePinto had been waiting for this day to come for a long time.
The former Broomfield High School student was one of about 100 former and current students, faculty members and area residents who watched this morning as a demolition crew tore down the north wing of the high school.
DePinto even got in the act. Before the crew started its work just after 9 a.m., he joined a handful of teachers and their families as they threw rocks through the windows of the abandoned classrooms. He joked that it was a way of settling old scores.
"I was tingling. That was a refreshing feeling given how much trouble I was in when I was here. It feels like a little payback," he said as he recorded the demolition on video.
"It would be nice if they would hand out hammers and tell us to go to town," DePinto said.
He wasn't the only person throwing stones. Assistant Principal Craig Boccard hurled a rock at one of the windows, and Principal Ginger Ramsey helped a faculty member's young son get in the act.
The school's north wing was demolished to clear the way for a two-story addition. The work is part of a $15.7 million renovation and expansion of the school that is expected to be completed in time for the start of the 2009-10 school year.
The north wing, built in 1959 , once housed Broomfield Junior High.
The demolition stirred mixed feelings among the crowd.
Steve Marchi graduated from Broomfield High School in 1992 and is now a social studies teacher at the school. He has a lot of good memories about time spent in the building, and his classroom was one of those demolished.
"There's sadness to see it going down, but it's going to be nice to see the new building," Marchi said as he watched a backhoe tear into the building's walls.
Even DePinto felt a little wistful for his high school days.
"I wish I could go back in time so I could pay attention, because now I like learning."
The excitement of seeing a building knocked down cut through the sadness.
"I'm a fan of the heavy machinery," recent graduate Kevin Fiedler said.
Marchi admitted there was a part of him that got a kick out of seeing the walls come down.
Marchi's class will be among many that will be moved to portable classrooms. Students and teachers will have to leave the building and walk through the rain or snow to get to their classes. Kenny Lynch, who will be a senior next year, said students aren't looking forward to that.
The expansion is being financed by a Boulder Valley School District bond issue passed by voters in November 2006. The plan they approved will add new classrooms, air-conditioning and laboratories for science and photography classes.
The district had to trim the project last fall after an increase in the cost of building expenses pushed the project $2.1 million over budget. To meet the target, classroom and storage space was reduced and the some building materials were downgraded.
