Shoals High School is adding a new wing that will include a FEMA-funded tornado storm shelter, providing enhanced safety for students and staff. The shelter, built with a heavy-duty structural frame and 14-inch masonry walls topped with precast concrete and a four-inch concrete cap, is designed to protect up to 368 people during severe weather events.
From the outside, the addition will appear as a standard expansion of the building, but inside, it will feature two new classrooms, two bathrooms, and a storage room, combining educational space with critical safety infrastructure.
Shoals Community Schools secured a federal FEMA grant that covers more than half the cost of the project, making it one of the first schools in Indiana to incorporate a shelter of this scale. Construction is underway, with the addition projected to be ready for use shortly after the Christmas break of this year.
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