New building at Spring Hill

By Staff, 03/19/21 12:38 PM

SPRING HILL – Friday was a special day for the Spring Hill School District as a new building was unveiled for the seventh and eighth grades.

Superintendent Tom Wilson said the building will also be the technology annex. Wilson, by completing the building, was able to keep his promise to the former superintendent, who died before it could be finished. “I told Mr. Purtle when I started in June of last year that I would finish this building for him, and here we are.”

Wilson said the project couldn’t have happened without the assistance of the Spring Hill School Board, introducing the members: Jimmy Don Hill, Mary Harrison, Erick Fisher, Ron Price and Danny Whatley. None of the members were able to attend the ceremony.

The building was constructed by Moser Construction of Benton, with the architectural firm of Elliott-McMorran-Vaden- Ragsdale-Woodward Inc. doing the design work. Mike Brown was the construction manager. Overall, the structure cost $1,469,575, with 80 percent coming from the state in partnership money. The district was responsible for paying the other 20 percent.

Wilson introduced Rep. Danny Watson, saying Watson is a champion for education, especially for the SHSD. He said the two have talked several times during the current legislative session with Watson considering how any bill would affect the district.

Watson talked about how this was an important day for the district and the building would be used for decades to come. He pointed out things like this aren’t happening all over the state, though some of the more affluent districts are able to do construction. Small districts he said, are basically having to make do.

Dr. Peter Maggio, principal at Spring Hill High School, said the new building will primarily be a transitional place for students leaving the sixth grade as they enter the seventh, and as a prep for students in the eighth grade as they get ready to move up to the high school. The new structure will replace Old Main, which is being phased out for academic use and will be for offices and storage.

The new building is state-of-the-art, with doors programmed only to unlock from the outside during class changes. The new computer lab also has top-of-the-line systems, while the classrooms have smart boards to help teachers with their instruction. Dr. Maggio said most of the buildings on campus have similar locking doors as a security measure.