By Marcus McDermott |

Rumors about the new Morgan school have been floating around since the referendum was passed in April of 2012. Since then, we here at The Morgan Paw Print have done several follow up articles on the school. I recently talked to Mrs. Hagness to get an update. She had some new information, and reconfirmed some old. In two year’s time, the students of this year’s freshman and sophomore classes will be sitting in a new classroom in a new school.

When asked about the design process, Mrs. Hagness told me that “We are at a point where most of the plans are done.” They are finished with the design as far as where classrooms will be and where all of the permanent fixtures of the school are.

According to Mrs. Hagness, “The phase that we are going to be entering into is the classroom design: what the furniture looks like, what the fixtures look like, and the equipment.” The construction company, in conjunction with Mrs. Hagness and the Board of Education, should be breaking ground soon.

She confirmed that “The school will not cost more than 64.7 million dollars. It might be under.” The school is projected to be completed in January of 2016. Mrs. Hagness told me that the plan is to begin the 2016 school year in the old Morgan, take midterms and then move to the new school.

As far as the school layout goes, the classrooms will no longer be divided by subject. They will be divided by grade level similar to Jared Eliot. English, History, and World Language will be grouped together, while Math and Science will have their own wing. It is my understanding that there will be sections of these wings where freshman and sophomores take their classes, and there will also be sections for Juniors and Seniors. She also wanted to make it clear that this does not mean that the whole school will be completely divided. There will still be students from every grade in different hallways. The cafeteria, Mrs. Hagness explained, will feel more like a food court in a mall or an airport. There will be choices for lunch, booth seating, high bar seating, and power outlets.

One fact that she wanted known about the new school is that  “The idea of the school is that when you walk in it will feel much more like a campus in a college than it does here, where it feels more like an institution.” I think that many students would agree that our school now is not the nicest. Although the pride is there, a change in scenery will be nice. The new school is quickly becoming more and more of a reality. It seems as though we will have a technologically advanced place to learn and grow, and the students here could not be more excited.