Just how new is Olentangy Berlin High School? The bells still aren’t working, so Principal Todd Spinner has to dismiss students using the PA system during the first day of classes on Wednesday.
Spinner calls it a once in a lifetime opportunity for an administrator to open a newly-created high school. It’s rewarding, but he says everything from utilities to bus schedules present a challenge.
“I’ve had other principals tell me ‘I’ve done what you’ve done,’” Spinner says with a laugh. “Nah, you haven’t.”
The school is home to 920 students and about 100 staff members. Spinner says they offer a complete array of athletic teams that will use the Bears mascot. The bear is an homage to the old mascot at Berlin High School, which closed in 1952, the same year the Olentangy district was formed.
Olentangy Berlin, which sits on Berlin Station Road near Alum Creek Reservoir, is the fourth and final high school for the Delaware County district that’s seen explosive growth in recent years.
Spinner says the school could also hold a unique place in state history. Spinner says state education officials expect Olentangy Berlin to be the final newly-created high school in the state.
“This may be the last time that there’s a brand new building, mascots, colors, traditions, all those things,” Spinner says.
