Renovations at Biddeford High School are nearly complete, and with the end of the school year fast approaching, officials took the time on Wednesday to dedicate the “like new” school with students, staff and community members.

The $34 million renovation project covered everything: Increasing the size of classrooms, installing new technology, and upgrading the gym and lecture hall. And it’s nice to hear students and staff appreciate the upgrades.

In interviews last week, several students said they feel more motivated to come to school and work hard because the new classrooms look nice and allow for more innovative learning.

Science rooms now have plenty of room for hands-on learning, as well as showers, eyewash stations and a new air exchange systems for safety. Classrooms also have interactive Eno boards, which allow teachers to connect their computers for presentations and interactive lessons in class.

Maine was on the cutting edge when it introduced the Maine Learning Technology Initiative in 2000, putting an Apple laptop in the hands of every junior high school student in the state. The program has spread to high schools all over the state as well, and while the program is helping to better prepare Maine students for a technological world, locally, schools need to keep up.

Many of Maine’s high schools ”“ like Biddeford ”“ are 1960-70s era structures, and are in need of upgrades. The technology is often lacking, despite the laptops on students’ desks, and the use of computers in the workplace will only continue to grow, so students need to be able to learn about the most up-to-date computer software and hardware as possible.

This is why Biddeford’s decision to move forward with renovations was the right one. These upgrades will benefit students for years to come, and with the right maintenance plan, the school could last even longer than its previous incarnation.

Aside from the technology and space issues the former Biddeford High School faced, its accreditation and the health of students and staff were also in jeopardy prior to the work.

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, which accredits schools in the region, placed BHS on a warning list both for academic reasons and because of the aging infrastructure. Now that the work is nearly completed, Biddeford High School Principal Britton Wolfe says the school will be taken off the warning list.

Health issues were also a concern in recent years, as several students and staff complained of air quality concerns, which some said led to asthma attacks, difficulty breathing and headaches. But as of last week, school nurse Peggy Blood was pleased to report that no students have come to her reporting illness due to the air quality this year.

The renovations at Biddeford High School were needed and long overdue. The changes will allow students to have a better, more tech-friendly learning environment, in addition to a healthier space to work, and as they said, a place where they want to go to learn every day.