So what's new at Freeman Public Schools the week before students and staff report to class?

The more appropriate question may be what isn't.

The whirlwind of activity that started last August and peaked during the summer months continues to make the district's campus one of the busiest places in town, and will give way to a new academic year beginning Aug. 27.

The most notable change at Freeman Public, of course, is the move into a new elementary school, which began Thursday, Aug. 6 and continues this week with staff members setting up their work spaces and adjusting to a facility far different from the one on Wipf Street that will soon be nothing more than a pile of rubble.

Construction of the new 49,000 square-foot school building - an extension of the jr.-sr. high school - began last August and has nearly wrapped up. Aside from some landscaping work and a few minor odds and ends inside, the new Freeman Elementary is ready to christen.

"It's better than I ever could have imagined," said elementary administrative assistant Ruth Strasser, who, like the rest of the staff, is settling into a space that is much larger and far more conducive to today's learning environment than what was available in the old school building constructed more than eight decades ago. "We've gone from what we had to the unbelievable; I won't be able to wipe the smile off my face for at least a year."

From her desk in the reception area north of the sprawling educational wing, Strasser looks out through large windows facing the commons area, and the reception area also provides plenty of staff work space and elbow room for students coming and going.

Speaking of elbow room, the narrow hallways of old have been replaced with wide corridors. Staircases don't exist. At 900 square feet each, elementary classrooms are twice as large as they once were, and there are two of each. Restroom facilities are aplenty.

Because the new elementary school is physically linked to the jr.-sr. high school through the FHS Gym, Strasser says the synergy between the two staffs will be greatly improved.

"Those bonds are key," she says. "It will be nice for the teachers to be able to work together (in a new way)."

And the new facility allows for a dramatic increase in school security.

With the reception area front and center, front-level staff can see who's coming and going at all times. On top of that, the school will be on automatic lockdown throughout the day; those needing inside will have to be buzzed in.

"Before, I'd see people walking though the halls that I didn't even know were in the building, just because of how it was built," says Strasser. "Student safety is key in today's world."

Elementary Principal Ryan Mors, too, has a window into who's coming and going; his office is situated on the west side of the administrative area, with the elementary parking lot in plain view.

Like Strasser, Mors is thrilled to be in a new facility.

"I think the consensus is, 'Wow, what an amazing place,'" he told the Courier last week. "From the outside it may not look that big, but when you get inside and take a look at the space you realize what we have."

The openness of the building will make for a better working and learning environment, says Mors, and during the summer months and first few weeks of the school year, the air conditioning won't hurt, either.

"Learning is going to be more comfortable all around," he said.

In the same way he and other staff members are excited about all the ways the new school will be an improvement, Mors says the community can and should feel proud about the building because they played a large part in making it a reality; sixteen months ago voters overwhelming approved a bond to build the new school, setting into motion a 12-month construction process that began last August.

"Everybody should feel good about this," Mors said. "We have a beautiful new building; it's a milestone for this community."

Mors said the new school has been "a busy, busy, busy place" the past 10 days, with staff unpacking the boxes of inventory brought over from the old school and setting up their rooms.

"They have more space than they ever had before," he said. "It's like moving into a new house; you have to figure out where you're going to put everything."

Most of the contents inside the rooms - from student desks to teaching supplies - were moved from the Wipf Street building. With an exception here and there, the only new furniture purchased for classrooms was desks and chairs for the teachers.

"Pretty much everything else came over," said Mors, who reported to the school board at its regular meeting Aug. 10 that the move was a "lengthy, hot and tiresome process."

The move began Thursday morning, Aug. 6 and was completed by the end of the day Aug. 7.

Old elementary property
As for that old elementary building, its final chapter - its demise - is now just a matter of time.

A contract with Craig Maloney, whose low bid of $59,900 for demolition and removal of the building earned him the job, says work will begin Sept. 15 and conclude no later than the end of the calendar year.

However, Freeman Public Superintendent Don Hotchkiss said the demolition process could begin sooner if all the paperwork is in place.

With the move to the old school taking place earlier this month, and with many items sold at auction Aug. 12, the building has basically been emptied. Those who purchased items from inside the building - items like wire, radiators, lighting fixtures and computer cable - have until Aug. 26 to remove them.

Hotchkiss said the beginning of the demolition could, in theory, begin anytime after that, although paperwork and logistics will have to first be finalized by Maloney.

Hotchkiss also told the Courier the Aug. 12 auction grossed just over $5,400. The three-hour event saw the sale of a variety of items used in the former school building ranging from scrap lumber to tables and chairs. The wooden garage used for storage brought $650, and the old wooden school house went for just $5.

Another item on the auction block was the sets of bleachers used in the old elementary school gym.

Despite the school's desire to include the bleachers with its offer to give that building to the city, because they were listed on the original auction bill, and because several parties attended the auction to bid on them, "we felt we had no choice but to put them up," said Hotchkiss.

However, with the high bid reaching just $1,500, school officials elected not to sell them.

"Even though we told the city that we'd include the bleachers with the gym, if the price was right we would have sold them," Hotchkiss said. "$1,500 wasn't going to do it."