By JAMES EVANS
Rutherford County Schools
When parents and students return for the school year, they will be greeted by a much different-looking Smyrna Middle School.
The school district recently completed an $11.7 million addition to the school, which has a storied history and previously served as the high school for Smyrna.
The addition includes a new main entrance, as well as a new front office, expanded cafeteria, 14 new classrooms, four science labs, a new computer lab, a new library, and a new courtyard, which was created between the former front entrance and the new addition.
“These kids have worked hard for this building,” Smyrna Middle School Principal Steve Luker said. “They’ve had to walk outside in rain and bad weather. Teachers have too. It will be special to them to see it from the ground up, to get to go to school in an old building with a lot of character and to come back to a new building.”
The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting and open house for the renovated school on Sunday, Aug. 5 from 2-4 p.m. Participants will be able to tour the new addition and see how it has been integrated with the existing building.
The school’s long history includes many notable graduates, including Director of Schools Bill Spurlock, former Director Harry Gill Jr., and retiring School Board member Wayne Blair, just to name a few.
The school originally opened in 1961 as Smyrna High School. It remained the town’s high school until the opening of the current high school in 1988.
The original school was comprised of 76,456 square feet and a vocational building with 34,700 square feet. The new wing addition has 49,566 square feet and dining area expansion of 4,048 square feet. That brings the school’s total square footage to 164,770, Project Manager Bryan Yarbrough said.
Smyrna Middle School is located at 712 Hazelwood Drive in Smyrna. For more information about the school, visit sms.rcschools.net.
