The Marion Independent School District broke ground on two construction projects on district property on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. The event started at the Thomas Park Field where student representatives and friends of the district (including Big Red) retrieved soil on the current field. Participants then drove to Marion High School where they were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of current students who lined up on the sidewalk outside of the school. After presentations by staff and friends at the future athletics complex space student representatives broke ground and shoveled dirt from Thomas Park onto the new field. It was a beautiful way to bring a piece of the old field onto the new space.
Later that day Francis Marion Intermediate School held a similar groundbreaking event to kick off renovations at the elementary school. Student representatives wearing hard hats helped to dig dirt where the construction project will be held.
These construction projects and the creation of a new elementary school at Thomas Park and a new high school auditorium are made possible by a $31 million bond. The measure passed March 2, 2021, with 84.6 percent of the vote — 1,312 in favor and 238 opposed. The measure needed 60 percent support to pass.
“I cannot begin to express to you the significance and brilliance of this moment,” Marion High Principal Greg Semler said in an email to staff. “Our current students are allowed front row seats to one of the most significant changes this district has ever been a part of; this parade is the beginning of tangible action — fulfilling the hopes and vision of so many in moving our students into an environment appropriate and consummate to the level we value our children.”
To learn more and stay updated with construction progress visit the district website here.