The buzz about Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Gahanna Lincoln High School began during winter break, and the community has been reeling with excitement since late December.

Superintendent Mark White said Biden’s visit to discuss college affordability began with a phone call in December to public-information officer Michael Straughter.

“I think Michael helped talk them into it,” White said. “They became sold on Gahanna, thanks to Michael.”

Several districts were under consideration, Straughter said, and he provided statistics on the district’s graduation rate, demographics, socioeconomic background, diversity and “excellent with distinction” state report card ranking.

“We know at least 80 percent of our seniors go on to college,” he said. “Those factors seemed to catch their attention. There were follow-up calls. We kept sharing what I felt were our successes.”

A White House advance team, including the Secret Service, arrived in the city Jan. 6.

“There were 10 to 12 of them,” White said. “They camped at the Holiday Inn Express all week.”

White told school board members Jan. 12 that they would have been pleased with the White House staff’s conduct.

“They were as accommodating as they could be,” he said. “They didn’t want to step on our toes. It was a great day in the district. I’m very proud of (principal) Mr. (Dwight) Carter and his staff.”

Chris Linnabary, a Gahanna-Jefferson Education Association member, said it was a historic day for Gahanna.

“I have two kids, and I heard every night about the Secret Service and them going to eat at J. Gumbo’s,” she said.

Board member Heather Bishoff said there weren’t enough seats for everyone invited after the fire marshal took 300 chairs out of the gym, where the visit was held. As a result, a live feed from the gym was connected to the high school auditorium, where the overflow guests were accommodated.

“When Vice President Biden heard about that, he went to the overflow room first,” Bishoff said.

Bishoff’s daughter, Sammi Scherer, a junior, was one of the students in the auditorium.

“My friends and I were bummed we wouldn’t get to see him,” she said. “It was a nice surprise when he came in. He said he was sorry we were in the overflow, and he said he had been in an overflow room before. He talked about how we all deserve an education.”

In addition to students, other local officials attended the town-hall-style meeting, including Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Avon), who shared the stage with Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Gahanna Mayor Becky Stinchcomb also attended, along with several city council members, who had to forgo the scheduled state-of-the-chamber event that was occurring simultaneously. “We missed the mayor and a couple council folks, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” chamber president Leslee Blake said. “Everyone was flattered he came to Gahanna.”

Straughter said a lot of behind-the-scenes work had been done with the buildings-and-grounds staff, technology department and security.

“There was a lot of background work to prepare the gym and other areas,” he said. “We didn’t anticipate the fire marshal removing chairs. It was classy. (Biden) started with the students in overflow.”

Straughter and other staff were so buried in the details to prepare for the visit that a collective sigh came when it was over.

“By the end of the day, we were all tired, but it was a good tired,” he said. “Only after it was over did we realize the ‘wow’ factor that we just hosted the vice president.”