The Washington-Nile School District held a celebration on Sunday to dedicate their new middle school. Ground was broken for the building in 2009 and students will be attending classes in the building starting Wednesday.

The Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) paid for $17 of the project. The district spent $340,723 of its general fund.

“Because the OSFC recognized the significant issues with the old middle school we were able to obtain funding though their (OSFC) special needs allocation. The special needs funding is provided based upon local school district wealth. Because we are so low on the school funding equity ranking, we were able to obtain the funding with only two percent local funds,” said Jeff Stricklett, superintendent of the Washington-Nile School District.

The middle school is a LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building. “LEED is the important element of being green. The concept is evident in our building. We have energy-efficient equipment, environmentally safe construction and materials and LEED academic activities,” Stricklett said.

Other features of the building include a compass outside the main entrance of the building.

“It is necessary and appropriate to dedicate our new Portsmouth West Middle School to the students, staff and community,” Stricklett said during the ceremony. “The tireless efforts of school personnel enabled us to have this beautiful facility at no additional cost to the taxpayers. Without their efforts we would not have the new building,” Stricklett said.

WAYNE ALLEN may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 208, or wallen@heartlandpublications.com.