Nostalgia was the order of the day last Sunday for those that came to reminisce and take a last stroll through the building whose halls they once walked as students – many as long ago as the 1950s. Cave Spring Middle School, which debuted as Cave Spring High School in 1956, is slated for demolition in early June to make way for a brand new building on the same site.
Along with former students, a couple of future students, school board members Drew Barrineau and Jerry Canada, Superintendent Lorraine Lange and others mingled with the group during the planned Open House. Visitors were able to study a rendering of the proposed school, whose design has a clean modern feel, in sharp contrast to the current building. For those few that may not have seen a need for a new building, the rendering may elicit a reaction that perhaps this isn’t such a bad idea after all.
Most on hand seemed to enjoy the mini-reunion with old classmates as well as have an opportunity to take that last look around the old stomping grounds. Paul Noble, who despite the hot afternoon came dressed in jacket and tie, was the school’s very first band director and choral teacher. He still had that air of authority as he shared some of his memories of school life back in the early days.
Noble recalled that during his tenure there was “strong school spirit;” he seemed amused as he recounted how the band used to play “Swingin’ on Parade” at the football games. When he finally decided to take it off the playlist after several years, “families and students would yell from the stands to play it and we did—whether we wanted to or not!” He described the atmosphere at school in those days as “well disciplined and friendly—[people] enjoyed the community of the school.”
The county has an overall plan in place for updating school facilities and according to school board member Jerry Canada, “it is Cave Spring Middle School’s turn.” He added that “even before the economy turned south, we still planned for this.” For that same reason, bids are coming in lower and he says “it is really our good fortune that we’re getting a super bang for the buck” on this project. He said that “Glenvar will be next.”
When the board first looked into it they realized that due to the major components needed for renovation, the deterioration of the current building, and favorable construction costs in today’s market, it would be better to demolish the current building and construct a new facility.
In a statement last summer, Superintendent Lange said, “One of the major factors influencing this decision is the building lifespan of a renovated school compared to an entirely new school which will have a minimum of fifty years viability.”
It is hoped the project will be completed in a year, during which time the 6th and 7th graders will attend Hidden Valley Middle School and the 8th graders will attend Cave Spring High School.
Aimee Struzinsky, a rising 6th grader at CSMS will be attending Hidden Valley Middle, where her father happens to be a teacher. Dad Jim Struzinsky said “since second grade she said she wanted to come to my school; we never imagined that would actually happen.” Aimee was excited but said that “I think it will be weird going to Hidden Valley and transferring two years in a row … to be in a school you’ve never been in [twice],” referring to entering the new Cave Spring Middle the following year.
There wasn’t a lot of discussion as to what will happen if the school is not finished in one year’s time and some of the actual logistics of having extra students at the two schools has yet to be ironed out, but Struzinsky said that teachers, parents and students will be kept apprised as things unfold. He noted that “there has been a lot of public outreach” during the planning process, which has been very helpful.
