The south grade school in Jefferson, which is south of only the middle school and north of the elementary and the high school, will be renamed the Greene County Schools Administration Building. The Greene County board took action on the question at its July 16 meeting.
The building, which houses the district’s central offices and the Greene County Early Learning Center, hasn’t housed a “grade” in several years. It was the newer of two grade schools when it was built, with the old fortress north grade, better known as “the pink school,” five block to the north. With the construction of Jacques Elementary (then Jefferson elementary, and next Jefferson-Scranton elementary, and now Greene County elementary) and the demolition of the north grade school, the name “south grade” became a misnomer.
Superintendent Tim Christensen had other logic, though, for suggesting the name change. There is currently no signage on the building. “People with GPS can find the building, but they don’t know really what it is,” he said. Some at the meeting joked about calling it “the beige school” – there would be fewer letters making the signage less expensive – but the new name will be the highly descriptive Greene County Schools Administration Building.
New signage has been put on the district’s buildings during the summer to match the buildings’ names with the reorganized district. Christensen said the west end of the south side of the building, near the main entrance, would be the likely place for the signage. He planned to have a mock-up available to the board members soon.