Sixteen months after a tornado leveled a $13 million intermediate school under construction in Vilonia, Ark., a rebuilt facility has opened its doors to more than 780 students.
KTHV-TV reports that Frank Mitchell Intermediate School in Vilonia, about 30 miles north of Little Rock, has students in grades four, five and six. The school has capacity for 900students, and more than 780 have enrolled.
Damage from the April, 27, 2014, tornado forced the Vilonia district to tear down what was left of the unfinished 95,000-square-foot campus and start over construction.
A $1 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for a safe room at the school that can provide protection for more than 1,000 people and withstand winds of up to 250 miles an hour. That room still is under construction.
The school features a fenced-in, outdoor courtyard and two indoor gyms.
Video from KTHV-TV:
