State Legislators, Community Members Break Ground on Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School

After documenting health code and building violations for almost two decades, officials at the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig high school have finally broken ground on a new building.

It was supposed to be a temporary solution, but as the school’s guidance counselor shows Lakeland News, the former pole barn and auto body shop soon turned into a permanent but highly unsafe school house.

“Along the wall, [the wires] are not enclosed because there’s no where to enclose them,” says Jay Malchow, guidance counselor for the high school. “normally you don’t have electrical conduit exposed like that.”

It is sweltering in the summer in some classrooms, but students are forced to wear jackets and blankets in others during the winter. These are just some of the many problems facing the staff and students.

Now, the community hopes to start a new chapter in a new school after securing a twelve million dollar federal grant for the construction earlier this year.

At a campus ground breaking ceremony today, state legislators, school board members, Ojibwe tribal leaders and other community members gathered to celebrate the long over due occasion.

“We all want our children when they go to school to approach something that symbolizes the importance that we attach to their education,” said Rick Nolan, state representative for Minnesota’s 8th congressional district. “Hats off to the teachers and the school administrators who didn’t have that.”

Former teacher and current security director John Parmeter documented the school’s issues.

“Thanks to everyone for telling me every time some incident happened or any time the furnace went down like seven times in one year.”

Despite the difficult years, many are excited for the ones to come in a better learning environment.

School officials hope to have students in the new building by January 1st, that date may be pushed back to Fall of 2017 due to the construction length.

The new school will be adjacent to the elementary school.