Parents and teachers got their first look at plans for Harrison Elementary’s new building during a community meeting at the school last week.
The $25 million building will be located on Highway 58, just across the street from where the school’s current facility sits.
Designed by Franklin Architects, the new facility will be a welcome relief for parents, who have voiced concerns in the past about issues such as leaks, mold and faulty HVAC systems at the existing building, which is nearly 80 years old.
The new building will mean more than just consistent heating and cooling for students. In order to give students more time in the classroom, planners also rethought the layout for the building.
“One of the things that we heard over and over and over, from teachers especially, is little kids with short legs and short lunch periods are terrible things to try to make work,” said Matt Brown, director of design at Franklin Architects, rattling off anecdotes of time consumed while trying to herd students from the gym or art class and back. “They lose all of this time just getting to and from these things.”