Representatives from St. Paul Education Regional Division (SPERD), along with staff and students from Ashmont schools took part in the official sod turning for the construction of a brand new school on Oct. 17.
The event included comments from a number of dignitaries, who spoke about the project. Contractors had already been working at the site for a couple of weeks, but the official sod turning offered groups a chance to celebrate the start of the project.
The “sod turning ceremony is a true celebration of the hard work, dedication and collaboration of all stakeholders committed to an excellent education for all of our children. This school will be a center of learning and cultural enrichment for generations to come,” said SPERD board chair Heather Starosielski.
The new K-12 school is set to hold up to 900 students and will be situated near the current school. Students will continue to use the old school while the new one is built nearby.
Once the new school is complete, the old building will be torn down to make way for a new parking lot. The new school will bring the k-12 school together, with many common areas being shared between all ages, as opposed to the current model that has the school split in two schools under the same roof.
The new school is also set to hold about 300 more students than the current building.
Closing remarks and photos rounded off the Monday morning celebration.
