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FERRIDAY, La. — Ferriday High School may soon have a completely new look, with a modern paint job, outdoor pavilions and seating areas and a new façade to match new windows installed over the summer.

The Concordia Parish School Board hired M3A Architecture firm based in Jackson to design these improvements, which were presented at Thursday’s regular school board meeting.

The façade treatments will “take a very old structure and give it new life,” said architect William McElroy.

McElroy said he approached the project judiciously with school board funds while at the same time developing a plant to let the school “make a statement” with its visibility from the highway.

The existing bland manila color can be improved in a cost-effective way with “cool gray colors seen in 21st-century schools,” he said.

In between the buildings can be improved with fabric shade structures and seating to provide functional, collaborative spaces for students.

The gymnasium would receive a modern facelift with glowing event center lights and a plaza and sidewalk in front. New light fixtures, pavement and sidewalks in front of the building would also improve its frontal look, however McElroy said the school board could work outside of its budget for the beatification project to repave and stripe the parking lot and hide “distracting utility lines” in front of the building.

“We’re striving for something that is more inviting, more compelling and more representative of the school district and its aspirations for its students,” he said.