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New Springfield Local school done on time and under budget
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
NEW MIDDLETOWN
Elementary students in the Springfield Local School District will start the school year in a new $10 million building.
The 52,343-square-foot building was finished on time and under budget, said Superintendent Tom Yazvac at a ribbon- cutting ceremony Saturday.
“When you look at the technology, the infrastructure, the security of this building – it’s just truly amazing,” he said.
The building has a state-of-the-art security system, including cameras and the Raptor ID system. The Raptor ID system requires visitors to show their driver’s license or identification, which is scanned, and then prints out a visitor’s pass.
The building includes four classrooms per grade, three special-education classrooms, tutoring areas, a library, a gym, a music room and a cafeteria. Each grade level has a collaborative learning area and an outdoor education space.
About 400 students in kindergarten through fourth grade are enrolled for the 2015-16 school year.
Abby Stouffer and her daughters, Leah, 5, and Hannah, 8, checked out the new school Saturday. Each of the girls looked for, and found, her new classroom.
Leah, who will be in kindergarten, said her favorite part is her locker. She’s looking forward to stowing her new rainbow-colored backpack in it.
Hannah, who is entering third grade, liked the gym.
“It’s pretty big,” she said, noting that it’s larger than the old school’s gym.
Her favorite thing about the new building, however, is that the classrooms are all on one level.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” her mother said. “We’re very lucky that the community voted for the levy.”
The new building will give the community’s children a good start on their futures, she said.
“We have the newest technology, smart boards, and just overall a feeling of safety,” Abby Stouffer added. “We’re very thrilled.”
Voters approved a bond issue in May 2013 to build the school. Taxpayers paid 52 percent of the cost. The remainder was paid through Ohio Facilities Construction Commission funds. Construction began in the summer of 2014. School begins Sept. 9. Anthony Albanese, former Springfield High School assistant principal, will be the principal of the building.
The district plans to demolish the old elementary school building. Soccer fields may be developed in that space.
Additional tours for students and parents are scheduled for this week. Kindergarten students may tour the building from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday; first-graders from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; second-graders from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; and third- and fourth-graders from 6 to 8:30 Thursday. Students and parents may attend another session if unable to participate on the designated day.