Middle school moving to new campus Monday
"We're moving this weekend," - Principal Rodney Montello
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Shannon Crabtree Not Much Longer School buses won't be pulling up to the MLK Bouvelard campus much longer with the new middle school on FM 2765 set to open Monday. Most of the old campus, which traces its roots to the former segregated Greer school, will likely be demolished.

As planned, students will hold their first day of classes at the new El Campo Middle School on Monday.

"We're moving this weekend," ECMS Principal Rodney Montello said. "The moving process started weeks ago, moving items we didn't need to conduct class, such as football equipment and extra textbooks. Teachers boxed up personal items they didn't need, and they've already been taken over there."

He said the moving process has been steady and systematic, closely coordinated with LAN Walton, managers of the project.

"As you work with LAN Walton and their consultants, they move a lot of schools, and they systematically walk you through it and are very, very helpful," Montello said. "Everything is smooth and in stages, not one mass move like I expected. It's gradual and very organized."

The only things still at the old middle school's MLK Boulevard campus are items needed for day-to-day operations, such as permanent files and nurse's information.

"The library's moved and ready to accept children Monday morning, and we'll issue keys out to teachers (today)," Montello said.

"We will actually start letting teachers go over (to the new school) during their conference periods Thursday and Friday, and get ready to go Monday," he said. "During the weekend, basically what I'm going to do is open the school to employees and staff, and if they choose to work a little on their rooms, that is their choice."

The largest group of items to be moved this weekend are desks for sixth graders, chosen from those in the best shape after repeated floods at the old campus. Most of the existing furnishings at the old school will be left behind, due to their poor condition, and later sold at auction.

Montello took groups of middle school students to tour the facility on FM 2765 in recent weeks, hoping to have them as oriented as possible by the time the classes start Monday.

Tours of each grade only went to areas they absolutely needed to know early on, because the sheer size of the facility might confuse the children, Montello has said.

The district originally planned to make the switch to the new $17.6-million facility over the Christmas holiday break, but construction was delayed by unusually rainy weather in January and February and again in June and July, and also because of a shortage of brick masons. A lawsuit against the bond election results by local residents also created a delay and added to the cost of the project.

The new high school practice gym and middle school both came about as the result of a $19.9 million bond package approved in 2005.

Montello said a public "grand opening" of the school is planned for a yet-unspecified date, "after we're moved in and settled a bit."