The phrase, “if you build it they will come” held true during Wednesday’s open house at the new Mitchell High School.
Superintendent Joe Childs felt the excitement as the doors opened. “Everybody that I’ve spoken to just had an enormous grin on their face,” said Childs. “It’s kind of an awe place to be.”
Plus a feeling of gratitude. “Gratitude for the work that’s gone on here, gratitude to the ‘Vote Yes for Kids Campaign’, that solidified that the gymnasium space and the athletic space wasn’t an afterthought but part of the overall project,” he said.
Childs also credited former Superintendent, now South Dakota Secretary of Education, Joe Graves for his foresight in starting the plan some ten years ago.
Longtime Mitchell resident Bobbie Clark was impressed. “I think the building is fantastic, said Clark. “I really don’t want to go back to school at my age, but if I had to this would be the place to go.
From a tax-payer point of view, she gave it a thumbs up. “I think it’s well worth the money because our future is in our young people in getting that educational base,” Clark said.
Workers are continuing to put the final touches on the building in anticipation of the first day of classes in mid-August.