The long-awaited expansion of Seymour Community School Corp. was completed with a ribbon cutting Monday afternoon as students and faculty celebrated the completed expansion of Seymour High School.

Four years in the making, the project with a price tag of more than $52 million transformed what was once called the Seymour Sixth Grade Center to Seymour Intermediate School for fifth and sixth-grade students and provided much needed expansions to Seymour High School and the Ag-Science Center.

“This moment marks not just a milestone in our school’s journey, but a bright new chapter for our students, faculty and community,” Principal Steve Bush said.

Of the projects’ costs, around $29 million was dedicated to expanding Seymour High School — adding 78,000 new square-feet and renovating about 44,000-square-feet. Beside 30 additional classrooms, a large band room and choir room was added along with a new cafeteria, a courtyard for the life skills classrooms, labs and large group instruction spaces.

With a focus on safety, growth and expanded program, the project has been tax neutral for stakeholders.

“The original structure was built in 1958 and was very traditional in its nature,” said Talmadge Reasoner, who is assistant superintendent of operations. “The times in which we use facilities have changed and we needed to adapt. This gave us a great opportunity.”

Reasoner said the construction of a new cafeteria has already shown a major positive impact on the student body.

The original cafeteria was built in 1958 with low ceilings and accommodating only 10th, 11th and 12th grade students at the time.

“Now we are pushing 1,600 students and all of them stay for lunch,” Reasoner said. “Putting over 400 kids in the old cafeteria was a challenge and there was just an energy that was not relaxing.”

The new cafeteria offers a variety of seating options with more food offerings through the new Second Street Café and an added coffee/bakery shop, called the Night Owl, for students to grab a coffee or smoothie during the day.

“The benefit now is when you go in there when it’s full of over 400 kids its quiet,” he said. “The acoustics are phenomenal, and they are spread out.”

The area also offers around 75 outdoor seats for students who want to enjoy their lunch on a nice day.

Reasoner said the corporation has increased to more than 100,000 the number lunches sold over the course of the year, the new cafeteria being a large contributor to that number.

“As students get off the buses, they come straight into the cafeteria now and are held there until the hallway doors open,” he said. “Since we are eligible for free breakfast many students are taking advantage of that. Stacey Townsend (director of food services) and her assistant Audrey Barnes have done a fantastic job providing various food offerings.”

The old cafeteria, now transformed into cooking labs and classrooms, and the new band room, able to accommodate the more than 300-member band, has enhanced the focus on fine art skills.

“Our community really supports our band and choir,” Reasoner said. “It’s important that we put effort into those programs as well.”

In the search for a way to describe this renaissance, the corporation described this milestone as Echoes of Excellence.

“Where tradition meets tomorrow emerged,” Assistant Principal Karla Tobias-Bohle said. “These spaces embody that spirit, honoring our history while propelling us into the future.”

A rededication of Seymour High School and the Ag Science Center will occur at 4:45 p.m. Sept. 13 in conjunction with Homecoming. The ceremony will be held in the cafeteria, Door 2, of the High School, 1350 W. Second St. After a brief program, public tours will follow.