In 1875 (prior to its raising), the school board faced much opposition from the public about the cost of the new school ($16,000.00), and that it would be far cheaper to build a new addition onto the public school. The school board trustees continued to advocate for the building, and after a brief time, they made it happen. Initially there were three teachers who taught English, History, the Classics and Modern Languages. The first principal, Mr. F.L. Mitchell, M.A. taught mathematics and science. Enrollment that first year varied between 150 and 175. Since then two considerably larger additions have been built. The first of these in 1959 (at a cost of $700,000.00), adding sixteen classrooms and a contemporary gymnasium, a cafeteria, kitchen, a large 662-seat auditorium, projection room and a foyer. The school became a district high school serving an area of a thirty-mile radius. It was then that Perth Collegiate Institute became Perth & District Collegiate Institute. In 1977, PDCI competed on
Reach for the Top (a
CBC academic quiz show), and won against
Smiths Falls 235–130. They then competed against
Brockville to go to the St. Lawrence finals, but lost 285–175. In 2008, the school auditorium was named "Carolee & Geoff Mason Auditorium", in honour of Carolee's 27 years as PDCI's drama teacher, as well as her husband Geoff's contributions to theatre over the years. In Summer 2014, 10 classrooms on the second floor were designated for Grade 7/8 students who would be joining the school that Fall, and Gym 3 was also retrofitted for them as well. The main office (which was on the second floor) was relocated to a portion of the library area on the first floor, and half the space would remain the library/learning commons. In Summer 2015, an elevator was installed, helping the school meet more of the accessibility standards, and the new main entrance was made more noticeable. == Athletics ==