HURLEY, Mississippi - Eager students started classes in the new East Central Middle School at the end of March, but Jackson County School District officials held a ribbon cutting and open house on Monday to show off their newest asset.
"East Central Middle was our greatest need that needed to be tackled, so this is an exciting day for all of us," Superintendent Barry Amacker said of the $8 million facility. "This meets some very urgent current needs and also provides a gateway to the future.
"As more money becomes available, there is a plan to finish this on out. The wings can be extended. We have some more work on the cafeteria and we've already renovated the gym, so we're just a few million dollars away from a completely new school."
The new East Central Middle School is home to about 500 seventh- and eighth-grade students. The sixth grade is still housed in the older middle school, but several portable classrooms will be taken away from the property.
The 36,000-square-foot facility faces Slider Road and includes a front entrance, administrative offices, a library, 14 classrooms and new restrooms.
"It's been a labor of love," said Dino Vecchio, assistant superintendent for the East Central Attendance Center. "A lot of folks have been really interested in this project and there's a lot of people to thank for making it happen. It has a wonderful feel when you go in it. Everything is first class."
The school is decorated in the Hornets' traditional maroon and grey.
Some of the areas are accented with a unique patterned carpet that, upon a closer look, is made up of the letters of the alphabet.
The focal point of the school is a rotunda that is decorated with a large Hornet logo on the floor. Around the top are a series of words - Respect, Compassion, Wisdom, Integrity, Commitment, Achievement, Courage.
Principal R.L. Watson said a panel of teachers met to come up with the words that best describe the ideals of the school and the community."
"The rotunda is well-liked because it says what we are," Amacker said. "There's no substitute for a new classroom for students to sit and learn. To see their faces when they first came in this building, it was worth it all because this was all for them."
Amacker said he was pleased the district could take on the project without raising taxes.
"It took a lot of hard work and creativity to get this done," he said.
The district is using the same floor plan at Vancleave Upper Elementary. The center portion is under construction with the library, administrative office and a few classroom, with a plan to add the two flanking wings later.