South Range dedicates $38M school

November 8, 2010 at 12:04a.m.

NORTH LIMA

A 1970 entry in Atty. Alan Wenger’s yearbook spoke to a revolutionary change in his school district: It described students’ feelings related to the first year of a merger of schools in Greenford and North Lima, which became the South Range district.

Forty years later, those words have taken on renewed prescience.

The entry reads in part: “Because of consolidation, we, who had been two separate bodies, were now to be identified as one. We were excited and hopeful as we reached out for a new direction, for new friends.”

The two sentences also foreshadow Sunday’s 90-minute dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new $38 million South Range K-12 complex, 11300 Columbiana-Canfield Road (state Route 46).

“This is wonderful. It’s a top-notch facility,” said Wenger, a 1970 South Range graduate who also served from 1985 to 2005 as a school-board member in the district.

He recalled that nearly all of his fellow students were receptive to the earlier merger and that the transition was smooth.

Hundreds of people filled the auditorium for Sunday’s program, which featured a variety of speakers touting the 200,000-square-foot, $38 million facility that replaces the elementary/high school in North Lima and the middle school in Greenford.

The two-story school, which opened in September, is actually three configurations — one each for kindergarten through grade four; grades five through eight; and grades nine through 12, noted Superintendent Dennis J. Dunham. It has about 1,300 students, he estimated.

A fund-raising campaign began in fall 2006, and ground was broken in September 2008, Dunham explained, adding that the Ohio School Facilities Commission picked up about 52 percent of the cost.

The school, built largely with recycled materials, has 79 academic classrooms, three gyms and three music rooms, geothermal heating and cooling and 132 security cameras, Dunham continued, adding that rooms are equipped with the latest technology for sound and lighting. All the students have a common cafeteria, auditorium and library, the superintendent said.

“The community has a great deal to be proud of,” Dunham added.

One of those who’s not shy about expressing her pride is sophomore Monica Patrick, who said she’s excited about being able to finish her high school years in the state-of-the-art building.

Monica, who plays flute in the school band, said she’s grateful for a larger band room, wider hallways and improved lighting.

The ceremony featured one student representative from each of the 13 grades as well as board members and school officials lining up onstage to cut a long ribbon, officially ushering in the school.

Floyd Kenney, senior class president, shared his pride about being a member of the Class of 2011, which will be the first to graduate from the new school.

Other remarks were from Mark Witmer, school board president; the Rev. Melinda Q. Lacefield, pastor of Mount Olivet United Church of Christ in North Lima; and Gary Balog of Youngstown-based Balog Steines Hendricks & Manchester Architects Inc.

The South Range High School band provided musical performances.