The former Dean Rusk Middle School near Canton has reopened as Sequoyah East, the annex to Sequoyah High School next door.
The new Rusk Middle School opened last August, freeing up the original Dean Rusk building to relieve overcrowding and accommodate future growth at the high school, Cherokee County School District officials said.
“Moving forward, this will be a great space for Sequoyah High School,” said Cherokee Schools Superintendent Brian V. Hightower, who toured Sequoyah East on Friday with School Board members. The annex was opened to students this semester.
The old Dean Rusk was built in 1985 and expanded in 1990. It had 45 classrooms and labs and a capacity of 725 students. It was repurposed at a cost of $500,000 with a new air conditioning system in the gymnasium, new phones and fiber optic lines, a school-wide LED lighting system, and smart boards, computers and other technology in the classrooms, among other items.
School maintenance staff did the work with some support from vendors. The project was paid for with Education SPLOST tax funds.
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