By Joe Hadsall

jhadsall@joplinglobe.com

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carrie Johnson missed orientation for her daughter, eighth-grader Bailey Johnson, because of a broken foot. Sunday was the first time she saw the inside of the new Carl Junction Junior High School.

“This is awesome,” Johnson said. “It looks like they have more room in their classrooms. I know they were getting really crowded.”

School board president Rob Herron on Sunday dedicated the two-story building “to the community and kids.” More than 200 attended the ceremony in the school’s gymnasium. The Carl Junction Junior High choir sang two songs.

The two-story building has 24 bigger classrooms, including four science labs, a consumer sciences lab and an art room. It has three computer labs, rooms for choir, band and shop classes, wider halls, a 790-seat gymnasium, and a library.

Security features incorporated into the building’s design include more than 30 security cameras and a vestibule entrance.

Principal Debbie Elbrader said the building’s larger cafeteria is one of the students’ favorite features.

“It was in a backward area, out of the way,” Elbrader said. “Now it’s right where you walk in. It’s a central area.”

Bailey Johnson said going to school is a lot better in the new building.

“The hallways aren’t as crowded, and the classrooms are better,” she said. “There’s more room for lunch.”

Superintendent Phil Cook said the building was needed to keep up with the school district’s growth.

“We’re glad to be part of a growing community, but with that comes challenges,” Cook said. “We average about 85 new students a year.”

The new school opened up space at all of Carl Junction’s elementary schools. Cook said all the teachers in kindergarten through grade eight moved their classrooms.

Elbrader, who has been with the junior high for more than 28 years, said the new school should handle the district’s growth for several years.