New Ernest Ward Middle opens to students

Students walked out of the old Ernest Ward Middle School for the last time Monday.

They walked across a parking lot and into their new, $16 million school building, marking the second time this year that a student population has moved into a new building during the school year.

School administration had been keeping the new facility under wraps, so Monday was the first time students got to see their new school.

"Their faces as they walked in were priceless," said Ernest Ward principal Nancy Gindl-Perry. "You could have heard a pin drop."

The previous Ernest Ward building was 80 years old and struggling to accommodate the roughly 450 students that attend Ernest Ward.

The new building, which can accommodate up to 600 students, took two-and-a-half years to build and was paid for with local option sales tax dollars. Some of the highlights include a TV studio, culinary classroom, expansive library and upgraded technology.

"It's been a little overwhelming but it's worth every minute," said Ernest Ward teacher Somer Bridges. "It's so superior to what we had. It's probably the best experience I've had in teaching."

The building isn't entirely finished. The library shelves were empty Monday and the school agricultural classroom and band room still have several weeks before they're finished.

The old building will be torn down and the school has plans to sell engraved bricks to raise funds for their technology budget.

Parents should take note of a new pick up and drop off procedure at the school. Pickups should enter at the Highway 99A gate in front of the gym and from a line through the parking lot, exiting to the south.