A dedication ceremony was held Wednesday evening just outside of Oakland, for the new Riverside Community School District Junior-High School.

Riverside Jr-Sr. High School Principle David Gute

The 22-million dollar facility located at the intersection of Highways 59 and 6 just south of Oakland was designed to replace the facility that was built around 1930, and is the first built since reorganization of the Carson-Macedonia and Oakland school districts into Riverside in 1993.

It has three levels: two gyms and locker rooms on the bottom floor; an auditorium, office, music, art and kitchen on the second floor; and classrooms – grouped into middle-school and high-school spaces – and media center on the third floor.

Superintendent, Dr. Timothy Mitchell, who took over the job in July from Dr. Jim Sutton who had earlier this year announced his resignation, asked those in attendance, “What does it feel like to be the showcase school in all of southwest Iowa?”  Mitchell said he’s been a school superintendent for 22-years, and I have never been in a school district that started the year with so much energy, and so much pride, and so much enthusiasm. It has been an absolutely humbling experience for me and an honor for me to come in here as your new Superintendent.”

{From left to right) Riverside Seniors Lucas Wilber & Lillian Smith, Superintendent Dr. Timothy Mitchell, DLR Design firm rep. Paul Ahrend, & School Board President Murray Fenn.

Other speakers at the event included Seniors Lucas Wilber and Lillian Smith. Wilber said he’s elated be part of the first class to graduate from the new facility, and that spirit and pride extends to the rest of the student body. Smith echoed those sentiments. A member of the FFA, Wilber mentioned the new Ag/Vo-Tech building and how it would serve the students well. She choked-up though, when she spoke of beloved Voc-Ag Teacher-year-old Sherman Rhoten, who died on May 31st.

After six attempts, voters approved a $15.1 million bond issue for the new building in June 2013. Groundbreaking on the project began in July 2014, but there were several delays resulting from heavy rain during the summer of 2014, excavation and other issues, that kept pushing the move-in date back to the spring of this year, a subject Paul Ahrend, with the Design/Architectural firm DLR Group alluded to. Ahrend said getting the project off the ground was a challenge, especially where the soil was concerned, but he said the contractors overcame those challenges. He presented School Board President Murray Fenn with a “Gold Key” to the building, as a symbol of the complete work.

Superintendent Mitchell announced however, that the project is not done yet. He said there’s still some grass seeding to be completed, the erection of scoreboards and other athletic facility improvements. And then there’s a new Tornado Safe room. Mitchell said the School Board last Monday approved the addition of the Safe Room, which is made possible thanks to Federal and State Grants. The Safe Room, which will be completed within a couple of years, will be accessible to students and the public during severe weather.