New Vernon Middle School building a work in progress

MARION - The old Vernon Middle School building served students for 87 years.

The new building has a way to go; it's on week 3.

Students got a chance to show their parents around the new building Wednesday evening during its “Big Red Rally” open house. Teachers and administrators were on hand to show off the new building, which is a modern contrast to the previous iteration.

Most of the older Vernon, except for the gym, was demolished during the summer to make way for further construction to expand the new school.

Seeing the old school torn down was bittersweet, said Carolyn Munson, who first came to Vernon in 1972 and has spent her entire career there teaching science.

“It was very hard to leave,” she said. “Because of the architecture and style of the age it was built, it was very unique. There were so many ornate details.”

But after 87 years, it was getting too difficult to continue to repair the older facility, which led to its decommissioning.

Students are at work in the new building, but parts of it remain unfinished. Several areas are still un-carpeted, and unfinished classrooms are standing in for kitchen, lunchroom, library and office space. Because the lunch space is small, student lunches need to be spread out, with some eating as early as 10 a.m. and some as late as 2 p.m.

In addition, much of the area around the building still is under construction, leaving little space for parking.

Principal Phil Cochran, whose office is one of the unfinished classrooms, said that there are some parent concerns, mainly relating to parking and student safety near construction, but that there haven't been many complaints.

He called attention to many of the improvements at Vernon that the old building lacked, such as greater access to technology, with built-in audio systems and interactive whiteboards, as well as redesigned and improved science labs.

Cochran also said that, when the building is complete, it will have very impressive fine arts facilities.

“We're excited for the big picture,” he said.

The building also features a sensory room with a variety of equipment to help fit the needs of the school's special education students. The old building only had a swing, but the new Vernon has bouncing balls, rocking chairs and other equipment that helps special education students focus, and in some cases, take the same classes as the general education students.

Many of the students who went to the previous building said they were very pleased with the new, tech-heavy school. Eighth-grader Josephine Tompkins said she would miss the old school, but was really enjoying the first few weeks at the new one.

“I'll miss the old one, but this building's a big improvement. It's much more with the 21st century,” she said.

The construction has left an impression on some of the students. Sixth grader Skyla Atkins, 12, said that between the construction and other activities going on in the school, it could get very noisy at times.

Her mother, Collette Atkins, agreed the construction was inconvenient, but praised the school.

“Marion Independent School District really needs this,” she said.

Construction on the building is expected to be fully complete by the start of the 2012-2013 school year.