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April 02, 2010
Etheridge touts loan program during school tour
Jim Holt
Rocky Mount Telegram
A long-standing proponent of special USDA grants, U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge made a brief appearance at Middlesex Elementary on Thursday to see firsthand how rural development funding will be used to renovate the school.
For more than 30 minutes, staff from Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools led the congressman through the 420-student elementary school, explaining how the federal stimulus dollars under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 would be used.
Etheridge, D-2nd District, said that education is the key to personal fulfillment and economic growth.
"I don't know of any better place to spend that money," he said.
Renovation of the 100-year-old elementary school that started as a wooden building in 1902 will occur in two phases.
The first phase will begin mid-June and involves the demolishment of a main classroom building in place of a new facility that will house classrooms, administrative offices, a computer lab, a new kitchen and a new cafeteria, said Mark Strickland, the school districts special assistant for auxiliary services.
The second phase, he said, will take place in summer 2011 and involve converting the old cafeteria and kitchen into art and music space, renovating the existing gym's lobby and bathrooms and replacing the gym's heating system.
Etheridge said that there are three things that always are lacking in size when it comes to older schools; cafeterias, media centers and bathrooms.
He said bonds are hitting at just the right time now with the way the economy is, and investing these dollars in schools will make for a better future.
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