Columbia Public Schools (CPS) superintendent Dr. Brian Yearwood is pleased with this week’s ribbon-cutting for the voter-approved $7-million expansion of Eliot Battle elementary school.
Dr. Yearwood, school board members, schoolchildren, educators and Columbia Chamber of Commerce ambassadors cut the ribbon at Battle on Wednesday, as construction workers worked and watched nearby:
“These are the future leaders of our town, of our nation, of our state. And it’s exciting to know that we can all come together behind this one common mission to provide an environment, classrooms, 11 classrooms, state-of-the-art that will provide that educational experience for our scholars,” Dr. Yearwood tells 939 the Eagle.
In addition to the 11 new classrooms, Dr. Yearwood says the expansion will also include a dedicated storm shelter at fast-growing Battle elementary. Dr. Yearwood says the expansion will increase the school’s student capacity to about 650 students. The area east of the Links in Columbia continues to grow:
“We have a community here that’s growing. So it will allow us to have more of our scholars in the classrooms without having overcrowding. As well as for future projections, because as homes are built in the area and things are developing, we must have spaces where our scholars can go and be successful,” says Dr. Yearwood.
CPS patrons voted to approve the expansion as part of an overall 2022 bond issue. Dr. Yearwood tells 939 the Eagle that fulfilling promises made to the voters is critical:
“When we make promises to our community, especially when it comes to the expenditures and we want to be excellent stewards of our taxpayers dollars. So when we make promises, we must fulfill these promises. And this is but one way of demonstrating that and we are very proud of this project and what it has done,” Dr. Yearwood says.
Eliot Battle elementary opened in 2015. It is located near Battle high school.
