The Moose Lake (Minn.) district has replaced its aging, flood-prone school with a $34.7 million K-12 campus on higher ground.
The Duluth News Tribune reports that the new building, years in the making, replaced a more-than-80-year-old building that had been severely damaged by flooding in 2012.
About 650 students began classes last week in their new school.
The district secured funding for the new school when voters, after rejecting numerous bond proposals over the years, approved a $34.7 million plan in 2014. Voters were persuaded to support new construction after state legislation promised to provide about 60 percent of the project cost.
The new school has been built on higher ground, on land that was already owned by the district.
Among the features of the facility, according to Architectural Resources Inc., which designed the facility: a 450-seat auditorium complex with a green-scene lab; daylighted commons and gymnasiums; a secure, efficient main entrance with good visual supervision of the interior and exterior of the building; a fitness center that is available for public use; and nature teaching areas—forested spaces, grasslands and wetlands.
