Community leaders and Macomb School District students braved the chilly and blustery weather on the final day of March to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the new middle school.
Principal Dana Isackson said the district has talked for decades about building a middle school separate from the high school. She said the building will be a dream come true.
“We never gave up the dream that we would have our own facility,” Isackson said. “So there’s a lot of retired teachers out there that I hope are celebrating and enjoying the thought that this is really going to happen now.”
Isackson said the building plan is based on research of other middle schools, and on input from many people, including students. She said among other ideas, students suggested a multi-purpose room that could serve as more than a gym - a place where plays, debates, and other events can be held.
The middle school will be built just south of the current junior-senior high school campus. The district expects to open the new school in the Fall of 2022.
“It’s exciting for us, and it’s exciting for the high school to be able to have their own school,” Isackson said.
Hein Construction Company, which has offices in Galesburg and Peoria, submitted the low bid of $17.8 million to build the school. The district has issued bonds to pay for the project and plans to continue seeking grants to help offset some of the cost. The district will repay the bonds with revenue generated from the county’s one-cent sales tax for schools.
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