While it may be difficult for some citizens of Leeds to say goodbye to the old Leeds Middle School, the groundbreaking for the new middle school Wednesday, April 30, was cause for celebration throughout the city.Representatives from the Leeds Board of Education, City Council, Public Education Building Authority, the Leeds Water Works Board and the school system as well as contractors working on the new school were present to wield golden shovels as they broke in the location for the new school.
Construction on the new middle school began in late April just in front of the current high school. As the new school progresses, the old high school will be torn down and construction on the new high school on Coosa Avenue will continue.
Mayor James “Tac” Whitfield said he had fond memories of the old high school, but if it had to be taken down to provide the children of Leeds with a new facility they deserved it.
Councilman Kenneth Washington said it had been hard at first to unite the community on building the new schools, but he said the move would allow students access to better technology to help them succeed.
“Our community has united to make something special for Leeds,” Washington said. “In my district it has been hard to give up the middle school and watch it move from there to here. But the technology available in the new school will allow our children to move into the next century. This will be something for our children to grow on, a legacy. And it is thanks to the hard work of the citizens in our community.”
Jack Courson, chairman of the Public Education Building Authority, said while the ceremony was meaningful to everyone with ties to Leeds, it must be especially meaningful for those citizens who had attended the city schools.
Courson also took time to thank the faculty and student body for proving the city could run its own school system.
“It took a lot of people a lot of hours to get where we are today,” he said. “We have every right to feel proud of ourselves. Although, I think I still have hand cramps from the seven copies of all those forms I signed last Wednesday.”
Dr. Billy Pack, superintendent of the Leeds City Schools, thanked the Water Works Board for its assistance by installing water at both school sites.
Pack said it was a proud moment for the schools because he remembers being the new superintendent coming into a school system no one expected to survive a year.
But that was January 2004 and the system has not only survived, it is thriving and growing.
Jeffrey Brewer of Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, Inc., said the approximately 78,000 square-foot facility would hold 500 students and cost about $13.2 million to construct.
General contractor for the project Gary C. Wyatt said his crew has gone full speed ahead since getting the green light on the bonds for the schools and his working relationship with the BOE has been helpful to the process.
“This needs to be a community affair all the way through the project,” he said. “We will keep that feeling going with slab signings and wall signings. We have been getting help from the school system and Dr. Pack has been a fantastic politician and catalyst when we needed it. He helps us get things going and keep things going and we have been working well together to manage this project.”
