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Highlands Today

Principal Readies 'Fabulous' New School

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By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: August 1, 2008

AVON PARK - As workers and school staff moved boxes big and small with carts and hand trucks, Memorial Elementary Principal Ruby Handley said the new school looks "fabulous."

Handley was all smiles in the main office when the lights went out. A worker checking a main control panel flipped the wrong switch. He quickly switched the lights back on.

After eight years at Fred Wild Elementary School, Handley is learning the ins and outs of the first brand new public school in the county since Hill-Gustat Middle School, which opened in 1996.

In preparation for the first day of school on Aug. 18, Assistant Principal Carla Ball unpacked boxes of new reading text boxes with the help of two staff members. Workers assembled teacher desks and other furniture as others unloaded a truckload of SmartBoards, one for each classroom.

A first impression of the new campus reveals that this is not your father's elementary school nor like any other in the district.

It's one big building with a large lobby. Once you enter the main lobby you're inside for good. You don't have to go outside to reach any classroom or part of the school.

The lobby is a feature absent from other schools.

Also, to make no mistake that you are entering the home of the Patriots, the school's mascot and three 5-foot-by-10-foot American flags hang vertically in front of the lobby's back wall.

In keeping with the patriotic theme, the school's colors and outside paint scheme are red, white and blue.

The school has 42 classrooms and a number of resource rooms.

"We will start the school year with some empty rooms," Handley said. "Our enrollment has not yet filled the 42 classrooms."

Handley is preparing for 560 to 600 students. She doesn't have a firm number on the school's enrollment because, as a School of Choice, some parents may request a transfer for their children to the school.

The phone system was not yet operational Thursday, but should be working next week. The phone number will be 784-0200.

Also, the school is not yet open to the public, but parents can register their children to attend Memorial Elementary at one the district's other elementary schools.

Handley suggested that parents can try the phone number, and when it's working, a school staff member will provide information about enrollment and when the office will be open to the public.

Teachers can start preparing the classrooms today, Handley said.

The school's orientation for parents and students will be held 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., Aug. 15.

The school is located at 861 Memorial Drive, just north of Ravine Road. Parents and visitors should use Ravine Road to enter the school's campus.

A.D. Morgan Corp. is the general contractor on the construction project, which had a guaranteed maximum price of $14.503 million.

Including property costs, engineering, furniture and fittings, the overall cost will be close to $20 million, Assistant Superintendent for Business Operations Mike Averyt said Thursday.

Also, engineers agreed that modifications to the school's roof during construction have not adversely affected the structure.

An investigation of the school's roof was prompted after cement blocks cracked in February due to thermal expansion.

School Board Attorney John McClure told the school board Tuesday, "it appears that both the engineer of record as well as our structural engineer are in complete agreement that the building is structurally sound."

Marc Valero can be reached at 386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com

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