Groundbreaking Held For New Ernest Ward Middle School (With Photo Gallery)

August 9, 2013

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday moning for a new $17 million rebuild of Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill.

“It is a great investment in this community,” said Deputy Superintendent Norm Ross. “It’s also something that is long overdue.”

The oldest buildings at Ernest Ward, including the main classroom wing, were constructed in 1945 to replace a campus ravaged by fire in 1943. That old school had been constructed to replace an Ernest Ward School that first opened in a log cabin in 1896.

Ernest Ward graduate Billy Ward, who later served as a longtime probate judge in Escambia County, looked fondly Thursday at the plans for new EWMS campus as he remembered his days at what was then Ernest Ward  School.

“It sure is nice,” Ward said, “I bet it will have all the buttons and extras that you can think of putting into a new building.”

Ward remembers the day in 1943 that smoke billowed toward the sky from what was then the campus of Ernest Ward on Arthur Brown Road, near the site of the modern day grain elevator. “I rode my bicycle as hard as I could to get over there and see what happened,” he said. “It just burnt to the ground.”

Classes for the remainder of 1943 and 1944 were held in the school gym, located across Arthur Brown Road and untouched by the fire.

“They divided the gym up and we finished school there,” Ward explained, “before they open the new school here (on Highway 97) in 1945. It was nice back then.”

The new Ernest Ward Middle School, expected to open in 18 to 24 months, will be more than just nice. It will be an ultra modern learning facility, according to Principal Nancy Perry.

“It’s truly an exciting day,” Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said Thursday morning. “We are grateful for everyone that’s worked so hard to make this day happen.”

Escambia County voters played a big part in making the $17 million facility a reality, thanks to the voter-approved half cent sales tax. Escambia is one of 16 of Florida’s 67 counties where voters have approved the half cent sales tax, which can be used for construction projects.

“We offer our thanks to the county voters,” School Board Chairman Jeff Bergosh said. “We just cant beat that drum enough…You can’t put a price tag on having those funds available and not having to do a bond issue for this project.”

“The half cent sales tax is the secret to this,” District 5 School Board member Bill Slayton said. “The state has all but stopped funding new schools.”

The new two-story Ernest Ward school building will be constructed as students remain on campus in the current facility. The new school will be constructed between the current building and the football stadium. Once the new building is complete, the current building will be torn down, and portables and modular buildings  currently on the campus will be removed.

For a photo gallery from Thursday’s Ernest Ward Middle School groundbreaking, click here.

Pictured: A groundbreaking was held for a new $17 million Ernest Ward Middle School Thursday morning in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

One Response to “Groundbreaking Held For New Ernest Ward Middle School (With Photo Gallery)”

  1. Jimbo on August 9th, 2013 7:15 am

    Long over due and needed? Yes. But the new school is being built in the wrong place for it be a centralized location for North Escambia overall. Two better places, which would serve the whole community best, would be either across from NHS or down around the Atmore cut-off.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News