Sugar Loaf Celebrates New Gym
Patience paid off for the Sugar Loaf community, staff, and students as the school celebrated the opening of the new gym and offices on October 4th. Alexander County Schools received a $5.3 million dollar state grant in January of 2023 to build the gym and office space.
Principal Joe Mabry told those at a ribbon cutting he was thrilled when he learned about the project. He said the news was “sweet music to the ears of students, staff, and community at Sugar Loaf.”
The state awarded the grant to Alexander County Schools after another county rejected the funds. The counties are required to contribute five percent matching funds for the Needs-Based Capital Funds, sometimes called lottery money. Alexander County Commissioners agreed to pay $265,000 dollars to get the state money.
Superintendent Dr. Bill Griffin thanked former superintendent Dr. Jennifer Hefner and former and current school board members who supported the project. ACS Facilities and Maintenance Director Chris Campbell applied for the highly competitive grants in 2022. The district’s five-year facilities improvement plan called for a bigger gym and new office space. At the celebration and ribbon cutting, Campbell thanked the company for finishing ahead of schedule. The construction started after a June 2023 board meeting where board members agreed to use Cope Construction out of Rock Hill for the project.
“It’s all about you all. It’s about being a part of this community,” said Chad Webb, Vice President of the company’s North Carolina division.
At the gathering a handful of students told their peers they liked the new space saying in the bigger gym they could run around and get tired. Their PE teacher, Kristin Morrison agreed.
“I’m thankful that our kids have the same opportunities as other kids in the county. I am thankful this has happened. We’re loving it,” said Morrison.
The project was not without its troubles. The 2024 summer had an unusual amount of rain which threatened the completion date of September 27th. Despite the worries, students were able to get into the gym for their first class in the space on September 17th.
After the ceremony and celebration, the entire school went outside for a ribbon cutting and pictures. Sugar Loaf opened in 1958 and was most recently updated in 2022 when six new classrooms were added. The school has 196 students enrolled.