Barryton Elementary closed its doors this month. On Saturday, June 5, it allowed community members in, for one last farewell to the building.
The school hosted a final walkthrough of the nearly 90-year-old building before it's demolished to make way for a new parking lot for the newly-built elementary building in the fall.
In 2015, the district received a 20 million dollar bond for a new school building.
It was supposed to open in 2020 but, like so many things, that was delayed due to the pandemic.
Superintendent Bob Grover said the new building will offer technological advances for kindergarten through fourth-grade children.
“The new building opens up a whole new level of educational opportunities for the children of this community, much more technologically advanced, so there’s going to be a lot more integration that occurs and open areas with space that’s definitely not in this area at all.”
Grover said the benefits students will enjoy in the 38,000-square-foot space are group instructional areas, a bigger gym, new security measures, and modern technology.
Grover said they will begin tearing down the original building Monday, June 14. He said there will be a welcoming tour in the fall to introduce the new elementary
This story was produced as part of the Michigan News Group Internship. A collaboration between WCMU and eight local newspapers. You can read a print version of the story in the Big Rapids Pioneer
