Garrettsville – The James A. Garfield Local School District cut a ribbon on Saturday, September 20 marking the amazing (120 days!) completion of the addition to the James A. Garfield Elementary School, bringing about the relocation of the district’s fifth and sixth graders to the Campus of Excellence, with all of the system’s students sharing the same venue. This was made possible through a $5million Straight A Grant from the State of Ohio(The only application to have received unanimous approval) and through the outstanding efforts of a blue-ribbon design and construction team—including local firms Scotchman Electric(Scott Russell), Doug Seaman Decorating and Rocky Gardens Landscaping(DeanHorvath). The application process opened one year, to the day, before the ribbon-cutting ceremony and was a total team effort, spearheaded by Superintendent Ted Lysiak and Treasurer Tracy Knauer. Board members, administrators, educators, staff members, students and a community advisory group all played a part in the final concept.
With the awarding of the grant, the clock began ticking and the race was on!
Bob McCullough of Hammond Construction, Melanie Friedman of FMD Architects spoke briefly of the challenges faced. Charlie Fury, superintendent of the whole construction project, was praised.
Guy Pietra, Board President, and Rick Patrick, Mayor of Garrettsville, offered thanks and appreciation to key players who were major factors in the co-operating elements which made the timeline work—Don Long, Carrie Dornack, principals; Ellen Rybak, GEA president; maintenance and custodial staff; students and teachers; village maintenance crews and permitting bodies. It was an over-all effort, one illustration of which was the newly-waxed floors of the building, done early that morning by Elementary head custodian, Judy Gyulai, since “her” building is now “our” building and she’s proud.
The refreshments and the tour were icing on the cake.
It’s not just about the building. It’s about BUILDING for the future.
