New school a cause for celebration
The start of a new school year is always an exciting moment, and that is doubly true when, like in Karns City Area School District, it comes with a new school building.
More than 600 students in kindergarten through sixth grade had their first day of class Tuesday, Sept. 3, in Karns City Area Elementary School, the new name for the expanded school formerly known as Chicora Elementary School. As we learned in the Wednesday edition of the Butler Eagle, the district added 12 classrooms, a new kitchen and a cafeteria.
The construction project, which took years and cost $25 million, puts all of the district’s students under the same roof. Previously, the students went to either Chicora Elementary or Sugarcreek Elementary.
The latter building was built in 1953 and renovated in 1973. It was supposed to close earlier, but delays with the construction on what would become Karns City Area Elementary meant the school stayed open for another year.
Eric Ritzert, superintendent of Karns City Area School District, said previously the board had its first meeting regarding Sugarcreek Elementary’s closure in September 2020, with an official vote to close the school in June 2021. Construction to expand Chicora Elementary was slowed because of a delay in obtaining permits, and the time to officially close Sugarcreek Elementary expired.
But on Tuesday, students attended the new school for the first time. And despite the closure of Sugarcreek, the district retained all its staff.
All that came together and after years of anticipation and construction, the project is complete.
“We're comfortable from a school operations standpoint,” Ritzert said Tuesday of the new school. “Thank our staff — from our custodial, teachers, paraprofessional, the school police — pulling together to make this first day feasible and enjoyable for the children.”
— JK
