By
Amber Dougherty
MURFREESBORO,
Tenn. — Overall Creek Elementary school is projected to open for the 2014-2015
school year, drawing 1,000 Murfreesboro City School students to a new
geothermal building that is designed to be more cost efficient.
“Overall
Creek will be Murfreesboro’s 13th elementary school,” said MCS
Director of Communications Lisa Trail.
Groundbreaking
for the school is scheduled for June 25, 2014. The new school will be located
near the Blackman community off Mooreland Lane, east of Veterans Parkway and
south of Franklin Road.
The
school is designed for modern features and innovation. The land for the new
school will allow the building to have a geothermal heating and cooling system.
“Geothermal
means that pipes run through the ground to bring up the water temperature,”
said Scales Elementary Principal Don Bartch. “The earth surrounds the pipes and
raises the temperature of the water and helps keep the water a constant
temperature rather than having to heat it or cool it with a machine.”
The
building will save MCS thousands of dollars each year. John Pittard Elementary
is a geothermal school that shows the cost benefits for an innovative heating
and cooling system.
“The
first school that we designed with the geothermal heating and cooling was John
Pittard Elementary,” said Finance/Administrative Services Director Gary
Anderson. “The next school we built was Scales Elementary. The schools are the
same square footage and have the same hours of operation, but Scales is not a
geothermal building. The amount we spend on operational energy for Scales is
$400,000 a year. We spend $189,000 a year on energy for John Pittard. The
heating and cooling system paid for itself in less than two years.”
Overall
Creek also will decrease overcrowding in schools.
“Overall
Creek Elementary will help decrease the level of overcrowding in the schools,
especially those schools on the west side of Murfreesboro,” said Trail. “Scales
Elementary currently has over 1,000 students, and after the rezoning, Scales
will have approximately 700 students.”
Don
Bartch has been selected to be the principal at Overall Creek. He will begin
his role in January 2014, overseeing the opening and
hiring at the school.
“[Bartch]
understands the vision of this school district and its focus on children,” said
Director of Murfreesboro City Schools Dr. Linda Gilbert. “Additionally, he
knows many of the students and parents that Overall Creek will serve.”
Bartch
is presently the principal at Scales Elementary, which is the largest school in
the MSC system.
“I
am very excited for the opening of Overall Creek,” said Bartch. “This type of
building is still new for Murfreesboro, and it is exciting for the community.”
For
updates on the progress of Overall Creek visit http://www.cityschools.net.
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