Superintendent Carrolyn Hamilton leads the ceremony for the groundbreaking of the new Harper McCaughan Elementary school Friday in Long Beach.
Posted on Sat, May. 03, 2008
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New site, same school
A sign of recovery for Long Beach
By MELISSA M. SCALLAN
mmscallan@sunherald.com
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LONG BEACH --
When Superintendent Carrolyn Hamilton and other educators made their way south of the tracks on Aug. 30, 2005, they couldn't believe the destruction Hurricane Katrina had caused at Harper McCaughan Elementary on Jeff Davis Avenue.The next day, though, they began working with architect Taylor Guild to document specific damage and work on a plan to get students and teachers into temporary classrooms.
The district managed to keep everyone together in portable buildings at Quarles Elementary, and nearly three years after the storm, the school district broke ground Friday on the new Harper McCaughan Elementary on Pineville Road.
Current and former district employees and school board members, as well as city and county leaders, gathered Friday on the site where the new school will be built and talked about how it was a sign of recovery for the whole city.
"For our students and our staff, you have shown that school pride and the sense of a caring school family are not tied to buildings," Hamilton said. "Our former site on Jeff Davis Avenue will always hold wonderful school memories for many of us."
The district bought 85 acres on Pineville Road, and the new Harper McCaughan will be placed on 13 of those acres. The $15.4 million school is scheduled to be complete by July 31, 2009, and will have classrooms, offices, a library, cafeteria, a gym with a stage and a courtyard with outdoor classrooms.
A road will be built connecting Pineville to Commission Road so employees won't have to drive through an adjoining subdivision to get to the school.
Hamilton said the district wants to build a new high school and middle school on the property in the future, as well as a sports facility.
"We've been looking forward to this day for a long time," Principal Eddie Holmes said. "It's an historic day for us. Even though the facility is gone, Harper McCaughan is still here."
State Rep. Richard Bennett, a former alderman and school board member, said the new school is a positive step for the entire city.
"This isn't just rebuilding a school," he said. "It's a step toward rebirth."
