School district celebrates Ridge Spring-Monetta dedication, groundbreaking
by Larry Wood
Aiken County Public Schools completed one construction project and started a new one Monday.
Aiken County Public Schools officials, Aiken County School Board members, students, alumni and community members dedicated and cut the ribbon for the new Ridge Spring-Monetta High School and broke ground for the new Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary School.
The new high school replaced the former facility that was built in the 1950s. Student and teachers moved into the new building in early February.
The new high school, which faces Trojan Road, features a state-of-the art media center, a new gymnasium and classrooms for every subject from agriculture science to band and health sciences.
Ridge Spring-Monetta High is the school district's Farm to Table Healthy Living School, focusing on health science, business and agriculture programs.
Ridge Spring-Monetta High students also have lockers for the first time in the school's history.
The facility also has new sports fields, including the football field, which opened in the fall, and a new baseball field with lights.
The school district broke ground for the new high school in August 2018.
At the groundbreaking, Sandra Shealey, who represents the Ridge Spring-Monetta and Wagener areas on the Aiken County School Board said, “The new school is going to offer more technology and more room, and I'm looking forward to watching one of the baseball games under the lights,” she said. “The community's support for the school always has been really strong. I'm excited to see what this new addition can do for the area.”
The facility, which is connected to the existing Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle School, also has a safety command center, the first dedicated space to control safety operations at any school in the county.
The estimated cost of the new school was $40.6 million.
The new elementary school also will be connected to the high school and middle school on the campus in Monetta on U.S. 1. The school will replace the current school in the town of Ridge Spring.
The estimated cost of the project is $24.6 million. The estimated completion date is August 2021.
Both projects were funded in part by the 1% sales tax Aiken County voters approved in November 2014.
Other projects funded by the tax are Leavelle McCampbell Middle School in Graniteville, Aiken High School and North Augusta High School. The school district also has plans to renovate the Career and Technology Center on U.S. 1 in Graniteville.