CUMBERLAND — The culmination of a project several years in the making was marked Nov. 12 when David Perkins sliced through a ribbon at the entrance to Greely High School.
This act by the School Administrative District 51 chairman capped off the school’s grand opening, an event that honored its expansion, plus the renovation of and connection to the 1868 Greely Institute.
“A big thank you goes out to the people of Cumberland and North Yarmouth for providing us with such a great facility,” Greely Vice Principal Dan McKeone said, also praising the students who soldiered through the construction progress.
“We’ve connected the old with the new, maintained the Greely level of achievement, and positioned ourselves to meet the needs of current and future generations of students in our community,” McKeone said.
The high school, nearly 100,000 square feet before work began, was expanded with a 30,000-square-foot addition, and a 1950s wing attached to the Greely Institute building was torn down. The project cost approximately $20 million and took about 18 months.
Rep. Meredith Strang Burgess, R-Cumberland, presented the school with Maine and U.S. flags that have flown over the state Capitol.
“High schools like this, building structures often last about 40 or 50 years,” Perkins told students at the ceremony. “And you guys are the first group going through this new structure. So stop for a minute and think, what’s it going to look like 40 or 50 years from now, the next time we go to rebuild our school.”
Alumni in their 70s and 80s visited the school during the Greely Institute work, recalling what it was like to go to school there when most of them lived on farms, Perkins said.
“What will you guys be like 40 or 50 years from now?,” he asked. “It’s really pretty interesting to think about that.”
Alex Lear can be reached at 373-9060 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net.
Sidebar Elements
David Perkins, chairman of the School Administrative District 51 Board of Directors, cuts a ribbon during the Greely High School grand opening celebration on Nov. 12 as students look on. The event honored the completion of the renovation and expansion of the Cumberland school, as well as its physical connection to the 1868 Greely Institute building.
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