The Southside School District celebrated the opening of its new middle school addition on Tuesday, Aug. 12, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held by the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce.
The 16,000-square-foot facility includes 10 new classrooms, spaces for life skills training, and a guidance counseling center. Following the ceremony, Southside School District staff led guided tours of the building.
“The Southside School Board is excited to dedicate this facility to our incoming fifth graders and celebrate another step in achieving our goals for the district’s growing infrastructure,” said School Board President Eric Lowe. “With increasing enrollment among our middle school students, this new building is greatly needed. The safe room features are impressive and will serve us well.”
Lowe also thanked Nabholz Construction for their work on the project and for providing improved recreation spaces at the middle school campus.
Superintendent Dion Stevens recognized the hard work and commitment of the Southside School District’s teachers, staff, administrators, and students.
“This beautiful addition will provide improved spaces, resources, and opportunities for our middle schoolers to learn, grow, and succeed,” said Stevens. “The school has been constructed with safety in mind, with many rooms designed as safe rooms that can house all middle school students during an emergency.”
The addition is part of a millage passed in 2021 and is included in the district’s master 146,000-square-foot plan for new campuses featuring modern classrooms, science and technology labs, multipurpose spaces for extracurricular activities and community events, a fine arts suite, upgraded athletic facilities, and a new cafeteria and dining bistro.
Ambassadors in attendance included: Aaron Herndon (Citizens Bank), Ashley Davis (Citizens Bank), Brenda Rivera (First Community Bank), Christina Watts (LaCroix Precision Optics), Eva Henriksen (Merchants & Planters Bank), Kristi Morgan (FNBC), Lori Tacker (Batesville Eye Care Center), Michael Kelley (Peco Foods), and Rickie Westbrook (Centennial Bank).
Image provided by the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce
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