Latham students break ground on new elementary : News : ConnectMidMissouri.com

Latham students break ground on new elementary

Posted: 12.05.2011 at 5:14 PM

Kermit Miller is the evening news anchor and state legislature reporter.

Students and school officials broke ground on a new school in Latham after a fire left this school in rubble last December.

Built in the 1920s on the footprint of an even older school house destroyed by fire, the Latham Elementary School was the heart of this tiny town in southern Moniteau County.

“There were a lot of events here: graduations, basketball games, Christmas programs,” School Board Member Bobby Medlin said.

A suspected boiler fire reduced the school to rubble just before Christmas in 2010, forcing students to attend classes in a church.

By March, the students were back on site in modular units, which supplies donated by school districts near and far. Better, but not the answer.

Students and district officials broke ground today on a new building for the students.

They turned the shovels on more than just a new building, but a third century of commitment to local education.

“Nobody gave up,” School Board President Kerry Baumgartner said. “I mean, it's been a learning experience.”

And when asked if the district ever felt like giving up and sending the kids to California, the answer was dedication.

“Absolutely not,” Superintendent Tanya Brown said. “That was never an option. We would rebuild.”

Insurance money will cover most of the $1.2 million cost of the new school and gymnasium. The board received about $100,000 in donations and pulled another $80,000 from its own reserves. 61 students in first through eighth grades attend school in Latham and past graduates are still around and grateful that the class of 2011 was not the last.

“Just knowing that we had no intent on closing the school and that we would be rebuilding, I think, has meant a lot to this community and has brought us closer together,” Brown said.

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