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New Greenwood middle school construction on schedule

GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — Thursday marked the first day of school for kids at Greenwood schools.

It was also a bittersweet day for the middle school students and teachers.

Several months ago, Greenwood schools broke ground on a new state-of-the-art middle school facility.

“We are very happy with the progress of the building,” Superintendent Dr. Kent DeKoninck said. “At this time we are on schedule and we believe we will be able to open at the start of the 2017-2018 school year.”

The school corporation is building a new middle school on the southeast side of the city. It’ll replace the current building near downtown.

“At our old middle school, which has some age on it, we just don’t have the space that we need for the 21st Century, so this will provide a lot of opportunities for our kids,” he said. “This is the final year for the current building, and it’s one of those items that people get sentimental about.”

DeKoninck said the new building will hold more students than the current building. And it will add opportunities for kids in sports.

“We don’t have a competition track at our current middle school so, we’ll have a competition track here,” he said, “Currently our middle school students many times need to be bused over to the high school to participate in track and field.”

The building will also have performing arts instruction space and the latest technology.

But even with the advantages on the horizon, this will be a bittersweet time for those in the current school.

“It’s kind of a sentimental year, particularly for people who have been here for a number of years and either taught in that building or went to school in the building,” he said. “A lot of mixed emotions, but overall knowing that progress is in the future, they’re excited about that.”

The city of Greenwood is planning to buy the current middle school property.

It’s located in the downtown area, so the city hopes to build commercial and residential space to add to the downtown revitalization.