After a year of construction, parents and local citizens will get an inside look at the renovated West Liberty Community School District Early Learning Center.
District leaders will snip a ribbon during an open house and ceremony, 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23, for a project that has been years in the making.
The plan started with a $1 million-plus dollar bus barn in Liberty Park, moved from the Middle School grounds.
That set the tone for a multi-million mid-COVID 19 project to expand the middle school, moving fifth graders into the facility from the elementary building. That move was completed more than a year ago and it didn’t take long for phase III to kick in – moving pre-school and kindergarten students out of the former Early Learning Center on the corner of Seventh Street West and Park Street.
The new estimated $5.5 million facility built north of the elementary school offers several advantages – not only for students, but teachers as well, according to West Liberty superintendent Shaun Krueger, who continued the program started by previous boards and superintendents.
He says this was the dream plan for a school board that would create three school campuses to the community instead of four.
Krueger said location is the biggest part of the restructuring, moving the pre-school and kindergarten classroom adjacent to the elementary school, which received a giant upgrade in HVAC and environmentally friendly changes.
The superintendent said the move gives the two schools opportunities to utilize cafeteria services, staff, including physical education teachers, nurses and administration.
The building is equipped with some of the latest technology, including Promethean smart boards that can be linked to a teacher’s computer. Kruse describes the new facilities as “new and bright,” – which include four enlarged kindergarten classrooms on the north end of the elementary school created from six classrooms, along with an additional kindergarten room for future growth.
Kruse says there are extensive changes that will aid teachers, including storage closets between the two classrooms. The elementary school is also ADA code compliant.
Thanks to the efforts of school nurse Kayla Morrison, the district was awarded a new playground to go with the school, funds provided mainly through West Liberty Foods and the Ryan Trust. The playground includes features for disabled children.
So, what will happen to the former ELC building, now unoccupied? Krueger says that’s up to the school board and they are presently in discussions with the school’s lawyers to review options.
In the meanwhile, Kruger says he’s extremely pleased the way the building turned out, meeting budget and opening with the new school year.