Perry County District #32 starts school year with new middle school building

PERRYVILLE, Mo. (KBSI) – Perry County District #32 has a new middle school building and the top priority is safety.

“First and foremost, safety and security,” said Principal Nicholas Cowell who is very proud of the new public school building and all that it has to offer to his staff and students.

The original school was built in 1967, and since then the school was in need for a desperate remodel.

Carrie Buchhiet says as a 7th grade English teacher her favorite part of the building is the new library, but the wider, open spaces are an added bonus.

“The building that we were in before was originally designed for elementary, so we were all kind of squished together,” said Bucchiet.

The school is now equipped with standard, state-of-the-art, security measures for anyone entering and exiting the building.

That’s something Buchheit says she is thankful for is the community that made it all possible by voting for the new public-school building.

“You know I think in Perry County, community and family is really the heart, of who we are, as a community, and one of those pieces is our school family and our children,” added Buchheit, while touching her heart.

The middle school is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

It will mark the end of a year’s long plan of improvement that began in 2020 with the groundbreaking of a second storm shelter to serve the middle and high schools.