When parents and school bus drivers arrive for the first day of class Wednesday at Mechanicsville Elementary School, they will be using a major improvement to the parking lot and road access system. School buses will enter the school from a new entrance off Old Village Road instead of using busy Route 5. And there will be a separate new entrance for cars off the same road.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Monday morning in a light drizzle in front of the school on the new parking lot. School Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano noted than when the school was built in 1951 Route 5 was a two-lane road. He said when he became superintendent during his first visit to the school he observed how dangerous it was for school buses to have to pull into and out of the school and vowed to do something about it. “Safety is the most critical and important thing we do for our students and our staff,” he said.
Del. John Wood said all of his nine children attended the children and now his grandchildren and great grandchildren are doing the same. He said the existing school replaced a two-room schoolhouse in the village of Mechanicsville.
The school board awarded an almost $1 million contract to Dennis Anderson Construction Corporation for the work that included a new access from Old Village Road, creating a separate bus loop, reorganizing staff and visitors’ parking and providing a student drop off area. The bid included a $100,000 alternate that allowed for a new electronic monument sign, an aluminum canopy and LED parking lot lights. Martirano said the school system might find ways to use that highly visible electronic sign.
The school also has a new playground that Principal Jeff DiRenzo has credited with significantly cutting down on student injuries. “This is all about the kids. This is why we have done all of this,” he said.
All five school board members, school system staff, county commissioners Francis “Jack” Russell and Daniel Morris, teachers, parents and students also attended the ceremony and participated in the ribbon cutting. Also in attendance were representatives of the contractor and the architect firm that designed the improvements.
