Breaking ground: Cuyahoga Falls district celebrates building of new school
"Exciting" was the most commonly heard word at Laybourne Field Tuesday evening.
More than 1,000 people of all ages came to the athletic field at Bolich Middle School in Cuyahoga Falls to see the official groundbreaking of a new school building for the school district's sixth- through 12-grade students in the district, which includes much of Cuyahoga Falls and Silver Lake.
"I think it's long overdue, and needed for the community, to meet the educational needs of the students," said Chris Tompkins of Cuyahoga Falls, whose son Cayden, 14, will be a junior when the building is scheduled to open in the 2025-26 school year.
Cayden said he was looking forward to going into a new school building. He added he was hoping that school and education would be better in the new facility.
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Michael Milligar, 12, of Cuyahoga Falls, said he also was looking forward to being in a new school facility, hoping that there would be "cool stuff I can learn." Michael added that he liked soccer, math and science.
Mia Adamson, 10, said she was excited about the prospect of going to a new school.
"The people there and the classrooms," Mia responded when asked about what she was looking forward to most. "How they are going to set up everything."
"It's very exciting for the whole community," said Alissa Adamson, Mia's mother and a Cuyahoga Falls resident.
Freshman Makayla Wilson, 14, of Cuyahoga Falls, was invited to speak to those attending the groundbreaking. Makayla said that she hoped "this new building will be a place for our students' hopes and dreams."
"A new high school and middle school is something I never thought I'd see in my school years," she said. "But here we are. I hope to see a place where students and teachers can come together. Were we have working heat and air conditioning, and a bigger library with more selections."
Festive atmosphere greets groundbreaking
The scene at Laybourne Field was one of celebration. Those attending were offered free refreshments, and could listen to the high school band, the Cuyahoga Falls high school's a cappella choir, the M&Ms, and children's choir, and watch the Art Sparks TNT and XD dancers. There was an opportunity to lift a shovelful of dirt before the actual ceremony. The evening ended with fireworks.
Besides the event marking the start of a new school building — the district's first since DeWitt was constructed in 1969 — Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters said the occasion was noteworthy in another way: the district's current high school was built in 1922.
The evening's celebrations serve as a bit of a relief as well, said Anthony Gomez, school board president.
"Every time you see me, you all asked me the same question," Gomez said to the crowd. "'When are you going to build that building?' Well, here is your answer: it's tonight."
Andrea Celico, the district's superintendent, said the launch of construction "marks a new beginning for how we educate our children for the future." She added that the new building will offer more collaborative learning between teachers and students, and better assist the district's pupils to prepare for the future.
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The district is planning to build a 365,000-square-foot building with a performing arts center and new multi-use athletic stadium where Bolich Middle and Newberry Elementary schools are now. The estimated cost for the building construction and the demolition of Bolich and Newberry is about $113 million, with $80.6 million coming from a local bond issue passed by district voters in fall 2019, and for $33.6 million coming from the state.
Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cuyahoga Falls celebrates groundbreaking for new school campus
