Bedford's new middle school close to completion

“We are planning on moving furniture in about the end of June or early July,” Chief Operations Officer Mac Duis said Thursday. “We are excited for students to get in here in the fall.”

The school — which can accommodate 700 to 750 students — originally was budgeted for about $38 million. Duis said the facility came in under budget by about $1 million.

“We are looking at ways to use those savings towards improvements,” he said. “We are very grateful that the county has such a good capital improvement budget that allows us to do so much.”

Bedford Middle School is slated to close after this school year, and students in that attendance zone will attend Liberty Middle School starting with the 2018-19 school year.

Liberty Middle — adjacent to Liberty High School on Liberty Minuteman Drive — will be Bedford County’s first new school in almost 20 years.

“Bedford Middle School is an aging facility,” Bedford County schools Superintendent Doug Schuch said when construction on the new school started. “There has been a need for a while for a replacement for that facility.”

Liberty Middle’s 130,000-square-foot, two-story school building features wide, furnished hallways; a combined auditorium and cafeteria with retractable seating; two separate patio/garden areas on the second floor that teachers and students can use as a study area; a courtyard in the middle of the school with four entrances; and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) classrooms.

“It’s very exciting to see what the possibilities are to design a school with the future in mind,” Schuch said.

Construction on the middle school started in 2016, and Duis said it has “gone pretty smoothly.”

“We are right on schedule,” Duis said. “That’s how we like to do a project … on time and under budget.”

Shawn Trosper — who toured the new facility Thursday — will be the first principal of Liberty Middle. Trosper, who has served as the principal of Moneta Elementary School since 2016, said he “can’t wait” until construction of the school is complete and he and his staff can move into the new facility.

“I’m ready now,” Trosper said. “I’ve been coming by about once a week to look at the progress … it looks better every time I come out.”

Ernie Sawyer, who will serve as the school’s assistant principal next year, was looking for which office he would be in when the school is ready.

“You have no idea,” Sawyer said laughing. “All of us are ready to get in here … this has been a long time coming.”

Eighth-grade history teacher Sarah McCauley, said Thursday the facility was “simply amazing.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” McCauley said. “I went to Bedford Middle School when I was a kid, I’ve had the opportunity to teach there and now I get to move to the new school. This school will give me the tools needed to teach my students … I’m so excited for next year.”

Cafeteria worker Linda Lacy said she has “mixed feelings” about leaving the old Bedford Middle School after it closes.

“This is quite a school,” Lacy said Thursday during the tour. “But I’ve worked at the old school on and off since 1984, and there are a lot of memories there.”

The middle school at 503 Longwood Ave. was constructed in the 1930s. The building served as Bedford High School for 36 years until 1964, according to the school’s website. From 1964 to 1989, the building was an elementary school. It has been a middle school since 1989.

The town of Bedford owns Bedford Middle School and currently is considering formal proposals to either purchase or lease the property from the town, Town Manager Bart Warner said at the beginning of the school year.

“The location is prime; it’s one of the most visible sites in town, something with a lot of cultural and historical identity to the community,” Warner said. “Obviously whatever does happen there, it will have the advantage of attracting interest just based on its location.”

Lacy said she hopes developers will show an interest in the property.

“I hope they can do something with it,” Lacy said. “It would be a shame to see it torn down.”

Shannon Keith covers Bedford County for The News and Advance. He can be reached at (434) 385-5530.