By Heather Graves
Correspondent

GREEN BAY – It was a good day to be a Baird Bee.

Students, staff, district leaders, city and county elected officials and community members gathered Tuesday, Sept. 17, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Baird Elementary School, the first newly constructed school in the Green Bay Area Public School District in 20 years.

“This is a day of celebration, it is indeed a happy day and it is a very historical event,” said Superintendent Michelle Langenfeld.

The Baird Elementary project, to tear down the existing school and build a new $20.5 million school in its place, was funded through the April 2017 $68.25 million facilities referendum.

The new school was built directly behind the old school.

“Again I’d like to extend the board of education’s sincere gratitude for the community support for the referendum and for the amazing work done by our staff,” said School Board President Brenda Warren.

It has a capacity of 600 students and houses students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

“Well kids, on behalf of Miron Construction, I need to tell you on behalf of all the construction workers – thank you,” said David Voss, Jr., president and CEO of Miron. “It was a real honor to build your school for you. It was a true honor to oversee construction of a facility that surely will strengthen our local community here and all the people like you that reside in it.”

The new 100,735-square-foot school (the old Baird school was 45,000 square feet) will help the district address the area’s growing enrollment.

Michael Sheean, Baird Elementary principal, said settling into the building over the first few weeks of school has been great.

“I think this building is awesome,” Sheean said.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, attendees had the opportunity to view the contents of the school’s time capsule dating back to 2000 with newspaper article clippings and ads from Cub Foods and Shopko, which are now both closed.