The Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting event on Tuesday, August 12, to commemorate the opening of the new middle school addition to the Southside School District.
The 16,000-square-foot building has a guidance counseling center, ten additional classrooms, and areas for training in life skills. Staff from the Southside School District gave guided tours of the structure after the event.
School Board President Eric Lowe stated, “The Southside School Board is thrilled to dedicate this facility to our incoming fifth graders and celebrate another step in achieving our goals for the district’s growing infrastructure.” This new building is much needed as our middle school student body continues to grow. We will benefit much from the safe room’s excellent features.
Lowe also expressed gratitude to Nabholz Construction for their efforts on the project and for enhancing the middle school campus’s recreational areas.
The dedication and hard work of the teachers, staff, administrators, and students in the Southside School District were acknowledged by Superintendent Dion Stevens.
According to Stevens, this lovely addition will give our middle school students better areas, tools, and chances to learn, develop, and thrive. With numerous rooms intended as safe rooms that can accommodate all middle school children in the event of an emergency, the school was built with safety in mind.
The district’s master 146,000-square-foot plan for new campuses, which includes a fine arts suite, modern classrooms, science and technology labs, multipurpose spaces for extracurricular activities and community events, upgraded athletic facilities, and a new cafeteria and dining bistro, includes the addition, which was part of a millage passed in 2021.
Among those present were Ambassadors Michael Kelley (Peco Foods), Rickie Westbrook (Centennial Bank), Lori Tacker (Batesville Eye Care Center), Eva Henriksen (Merchants & Planters Bank), Christina Watts (LaCroix Precision Optics), Brenda Rivera (First Community Bank), Aaron Herndon (Citizens Bank), and Ashley Davis (Citizens Bank).
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