Ogden christens pair of new and improved elementary schools
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- Children help cut a ceremonial ribbon during an open house for the renovated Polk Elementary School in Ogden on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022.
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- People walk the halls of newly rebuilt Polk Elementary School during open house on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022.
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- A new learning environment inside Liberty Elementary School in Ogden is pictured during an open house on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
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- Sisters Cathy Morton and Amy Morton-Miller pose with Ogden school board member Amber Allred, center, during an open house at Polk Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. The sisters brought a photo of their mother at Polk in the early 1930s.
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- The media center inside the new Liberty Elementary School is pictured during an open house on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
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- Members of the public attend an open house at the rebuilt Polk Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022.
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- Children assist in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Liberty Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
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- Darwin Smith, right, Ogden School District’s energy and construction manager, speaks with attendees at an open house for the new Liberty Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
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- A large crowd is pictured outside Polk Elementary School in Ogden before an open house for the rebuilt school on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022.
OGDEN — Members of the public came out in droves Tuesday evening to celebrate the completed rebuild of the oldest school in the Ogden School District. The celebration for Polk Elementary was preceded by a similar open house on Monday for the new Liberty Elementary School, formerly T.O. Smith.
While the open house for Liberty did not draw a crowd nearly as large as Polk, children, parents, teachers and staff of both schools shared in expressions of joy over the new facilities.
“I don’t know what my favorite part is yet, but I’m excited to find out,” fifth grade Liberty student Ameya Lund said while checking the comfort level of new lounge seats.
Lund’s sister Anya said she would have liked to go to Liberty but she is starting eighth grade this year.
Being home of the Tigers, Liberty fourth grade teacher Lisa Finch told an incoming student named TigerLilly, “You better be coming to this school.”
Polk Elementary Principal Donald Mendenhall has worked in the district for 16 years, with nine years as a principal. He said it is incredibly gratifying to have new spaces to educate kids.
“For an educator, it feels like Christmas,” Mendenhall said of modern technologies now available to better teach children.
Sisters Cathy Morton and Amy Morton-Miller gave OSD board member Amber Allred and others an idea of just how important the 96-year-old Polk building is to the community, bringing a black-and-white photo of their mother, Alice Jeane Barker, with the Polk Drum Corps in the early 1930s.
There was much excitement and appreciation from the community and all involved in making the improved learning environments a reality.
OSD Superintendent Luke Rasmussen thanked everyone for their support and patience, as well as commending Hughes General Contractors for completing the work in such quick time given supply shortages worldwide.
Hughes Superintendent Todd Davis credited early securement of supplies before construction began on Liberty in November 2020 for helping with the quick build time. While supplies were not an issue in constructing the schools, Davis said Polk had its own unique challenges.
Built in 1926, Polk required significant structural improvements, including seismic reinforcement. In an effort to preserve parts of the historic building, as requested by the community, Davis said builders experienced a fun challenge they have never had before — blending 20th century architecture with modern construction requirements.
The completed work at the two schools marks the culmination of projects earmarked in an $87 million bond issue approved by voters in 2018.