WELLSVILLE New high school is open

Voters laid the financial foundation in 1997 with a $1.7 million bond issue.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
WELLSVILLE -- Finally, 1 Bengal Blvd. is open for business, and schools Superintendent James Brown couldn't be more pleased.
"We've been talking about this day for a long, long time," Brown said Monday.
The district's 328 ninth- through 12th-graders, about 30 teachers, and Principal Richard Bereschik were to take over the new Wellsville High School when classes began this morning.
The move comes seven months later than estimated, Brown said. The building was completed in November, but school officials chose to complete wiring for Internet access, and other projects before moving students and staff, he said.
Smooth transition: Brown said the transition to the new building has been a smooth one because of the efforts of about seven maintenance personnel who have worked since November to tie up loose ends and put the finishing touches on the new school.
Last week, pupils were bused to the new building for orientation, Brown said. Each class spent about two hours touring the building, finding their classrooms and lockers.
School officials had an open house and dedication Sunday, and teachers met Monday for an orientation of their own, he said.
Pupils emptied their lockers when they left the former junior-senior high at the end of the day Friday. The maintenance staff has been moving nonessential materials other items for weeks, Brown said. The bulk of the move took place over the weekend, before Sunday's open house, he said.
Some seniors told visitors Sunday they had mixed emotions about the move -- until they stepped off the buses last week. "Then they took possession of the school," Brown said. "They said they immediately felt it was theirs. The seniors wanted to be the first to graduate here."
The project: The $12-million project also includes renovation of the former junior-senior high into a middle school for the district's fifth- through eighth-graders, Brown said. Both buildings are handicapped accessible and have state-of-the-art safety and security systems, he said.
Voters laid the financial foundation for the new high school in 1997 with a $1.7 million bond issue. The Ohio School Facilities Commission provided the rest from its state building assistance fund.