The dream of a new school for Magee’s children has finally come to fruition, and the students who enter Magee Elementary for the first time in August will be attending class not only in a new facility but also in a new location.
That new location on Goodwater Road in Magee can be seen from Highway 49. The actual project has been carried over two administrations, starting under the administration of Supt. Glenn Harris and seeing its completion under the administration of current superintendent Greg Paes. Supt. Paes said after all is said and done, the project will come in at about $10 million. He said the school would serve approximately 770 students but added that it was constructed so that it could easily be expanded to serve additional students.
Paes said there have been some bumps along the road but that everyone pulled together and did the right things in the end. He said, “We have a state of the art facility to serve the needs of our children. That is what it is really all about, providing our children with a quality education.” He expressed his appreciation to his board as well as to all in the community who have come together to make this school a reality. Paes was upbeat about the future of the students in Magee and sees this as an opportunity to make improvements in the overall system.
The facility contains 76,063 square feet of which 74,957 is heated. The space contains 35 classrooms. The facility will house classes from kindergarten through the fourth grade with seven classrooms for each grade.
Additional classes in the facility include two self contained special education classrooms and two inclusion classrooms for special education students. Other classrooms will house an interventionalist group, a gifted class, and a dyslexia class. A music room will have access to the stage and multi-purpose room.
The facility will include four computer labs that will accommodate 30 students each for a total of 120 students able to access computers at one time.
The new space contains two teacher resource rooms, two speech rooms, and a spacious library facility with a designated reading area and small cubicles with computers. Students will have all new furnishings.
The administrative offices are located at the center front of the complex to house the principal, lead teacher, counselor, bookkeeper/secretary, data clerk and the school nurse. The assistant principals will be located in the wings of the facility. Third and fourth grade will be on the west wing, first and second on the east wing and kindergarten behind the first and second grade area.
Located behind the center part of the building is the multi-purpose area, and adjacent to that is the school cafeteria, which contains just over 7,300 square feet and seats 300 students and 24 adults at one seating. The kitchen is equipped with all new equipment in order to meet proper dietary needs of the students.
The multi-purpose room contains 8,470 square feet with a stage for presentations and student performances. In addition to being air conditioned, it is equipped with innovative sound, lighting and video equipment. Its large gymnasium area offers basketball goals.
Separate fenced playgrounds are provided for first and second and third and fourth grade students. The entire campus is fenced. Each playground offers covered pavillions and water fountains.
Security of students will play an important role at the new facility. There is only one public entrance to the campus, and all visitors must report to the main office through the front door. Visitors will have to be buzzed into the facility.
Storm shelters which can house all students and staff are located on both wings of the facility. These shelter areas were built to withstand potential storms. There are also fire and intrusion alarm systems in the event of an emergency. In addition there is a security system to monitor the entire campus to provide additional safety and security.
Students will be able to travel the entire campus without ever going outside the facility. Public vehicular traffic will be limited to the front of the school and the actual drop off area will be on campus as opposed to on Goodwater Road. The back of the school will be used for bus traffic. Directions for traffic flow are stenciled on pavement to assist in traffic flow.
Regarding traffic flow the Simpson County Development Foundation partnered with Magee and the school system as well as Mississippi Department of Transportation to conduct a traffic study to look at traffic issues with recent development along Highway 49. MDOT made the decision for reasons of safety to close the crossover at the intersection of Goodwater Road and Highway 49. Vehicles approaching that intersection will only be able to turn right. Recent traffic studies indicate that the average speed both entering Magee and exiting Magee was in excess of 70 miles per hour. Closing the intersection at Goodwater Road should help prevent future possible accidents. There was also a stop light placed at the intersection where Love’s Truck Stop is located. The truck stop paid for the light as well as the modification to the intersection.
The final route that buses will use is still in the discussion stage. Original plans were to bring traffic back on Goodwater road to Entergy and back to the school. Another alternative according to Superintendent Paes is to route traffic back to Highway 49 to the exit at Tutor Funeral home and bring the buses back down 149 back to the school. The third alternative was to route the buses down Education Lane and send them on the frontage road down to Wendys and turn to go back to the other schools.
All three of these options are being discussed because of the condition of Goodwater Road. MDOT was giving ball park estimates of improving Goodwater Road upwards toward $2 million with relocation of utilities and right-of-way acquisition .
A final decision as to the actual route of travel for buses has yet to be determined. However that will only apply to approximately 16 buses on a daily basis. This is not regarding other vehicular traffic for the school.
