For the most part, "school is school," said Hubbard Middle School student Jessica Wylie.
But now that she and her Hubbard City Schools classmates have a new building to go to each day, school has taken on a whole new look.
"We have a lot more technology and better computers," 13-year-old Wylie said. "It's nice. It's clean and new. It's a nice school."
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Hubbard Middle School sixth-grader Travis Swartz, 12, answers questions about the new Hubbard K-12 campus for Avis Mathews, a school district resident on Sunday at the school’s open house.
Wylie, an eighth-grader, was among a group of students serving as directors last month during the dedication of the Hubbard K-12 Campus. Visitors were able to tour the campus.
"We basically are showing people where to go, to help them find different areas of the school, like the gym and classrooms and everything," said Travis Swartz, 12, a sixth-grader. "It's a big school, and we don't want anyone to get lost or anything."
At least 200 people gathered for the opening ceremony including members of the Hubbard School Board of Education and key parties in the project including Bill Courson of the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission.
"We are very grateful for the community and all of the support for our schools," said Richard J. Buchenic, schools superintendent. "You have made all of this possible. Your ongoing support of the schools was the key to the success of this project," he said.
At the start of the 2012-13 school year all of Hubbard students started attending classes on the district's new K-12 campus on Hall Avenue. Buchenic has described the campus as a 21st century school that meets all of the needs of modern education.
The new campus features 290,000-square feet under one roof with smart boards in every classroom and air conditioning, among other modern amenities. Residents approved a bond in 2006 to pay for the $56.5 million building.
"It really is a tremendous, beautiful asset to this community," said Al Sauline, a former mayor of Hubbard. Sauline attended Sunday's open house with his wife, Marcia. "We hadn't been the inside of it yet and we wanted to see it and be part of the opening. It really is a beautiful building. It's something the students, community, all of us can be proud of."
In November 2006, voters approved a bond issue that would cover the local share of the new schools. The total cost of the project was $53.5 million with more than $36 million of the costs funded through the Ohio State Facilities Commission. The local share was $17 million.
Groundbreaking was held in September 2008 and in September 2010, the high school opened. In August 2011, the elementary school was opened. Work continued on the middle school, which enabled the Board of Education to move into new offices in July. By August, the middle school was complete and ready to greet new students.