ST. PARIS – The public visited the new Graham Local Schools Transportation and Maintenance Facility on Tuesday.
Graham officials held an open house and ribbon cutting for the facility, which started operations in early August. Champaign County Chamber of Commerce members, district staff and administrators, present and previous school board members, construction contractors, village officials and community members toured the building.
The school district used approximately $625,000 left over from its past building project to purchase the land and renovate an existing building at the site, 9915 W. U.S. Route 36. The building, formerly Faulkner Lumberyard, now houses offices for staff, bus bays and outdoor storage. The district chose to remodel the building instead of building new due to cost. It was estimated to cost $1.9 million to build a new structure, District Operations and Services Supervisor Don Burley said previously.
Before the facility, transportation and maintenance staff were located at the former junior high school building at 370 E. Main St. That building is in the process of being sold to the village of St. Paris.
“We believe this facility really moves us forward to set Graham up for the future, for caring for our equipment and being in a great location,” Burley said at the open house. “We are grateful for it.”
