Aside from academics, Southside has been a strong contender in many different sports throughout the years, boasting an upgraded hall of fame in its gymnasium area.

Some of these, with the addition of student council, assist in planning events such as Southside's annual Special Olympics program, the spirit week activities for what is now known as the "Express Fest," community service involvement, school functions such as managing program box offices and the school store, amongst other positive endeavors of the many clubs.

[citation needed] Southside High stopped using the practice home economics house in the 1950s.

[4] In 1974 the board of trustees decided that Elmira Free Academy should get a recreation center, and this made members of the Southside High community upset that their school did not receive such a facility.

[6] The last Southside High facility, on a 28.3-acre (11.5 ha) plot of land,[6] opened in fall 1979, with the old building no longer used.

James Hare of the Elmira Star-Gazette wrote that at the time, "The matter of exposure to hazardous waste with the construction of a new school in 1977 was a nonissue.

"[6] Jeff Murray, of the same newspaper, stated "At the time, nobody seemed concerned the property was polluted from more than a century of heavy industrial activity.

[7] Westinghouse initially asked for $400,000 as a purchase price, but lowered it to $80,000, an action that Garth Wade of the Star Gazette stated made the construction of the school possible.

On May 25, 2011, the district officially announced that the new team would be called the Elmira Express, a common nickname for Elmiran legend Ernie Davis, the first African-American to ever win the Heisman Trophy in the sport of football.

[citation needed] The Southside High School cafeteria had 8,379 square feet (778.4 m2) of space.

The Elmira budget problem also jeopardizes the education of the students in the district, as well as the futures of the employed staff.