By JOSH AULT
6 News Reporter
HARRIMAN (WATE) - Dyllis Elementary School, just outside Harriman, has been open since 1928. On Wednesday, the school's doors were shut for good.
It was announced two years ago that the school would be closed. The decision happened after $40 million was given to Roane County following the 2008 coal ash spill at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant.
A portion of that money was used to build a new school that will combine Dyllis Elementary School and Oliver Springs Elementary School.
It was hard for many knowing Wednesday was the last day students were inside Dyllis Elementary.
"It's been such a big part of the community for so long," said second grade teacher Derrick Stewart. "It just seems like, I don't know, it seems like a family member's leaving or moving away."
Several school employees have never worked anywhere else. Brenda Wright, the school's secretary, started working at the school in 1974. "It's so sad," she said. "We have a family here."
Construction on the new school, which is named Dyllis Springs Elementary, is scheduled to be complete in June.
A majority of the teachers at Dyllis Elementary will go there, while others will be transferred to other schools. No one at Dyllis Elementary School will lose their jobs.
"It's bittersweet," said Dyllis Elementary Principal Kendra Inman. "I hate to see the doors close. I've seen many, many children come through the doors."
Inman has been at the school for 23 years. She says they've been up front with the students about the school closing.
"They do know what's going on," Inman said. "We've talked about it and tried to prepare them, prepare the teachers for the change. I think they are ready for it. They are excited."
At noon Wednesday, the last child boarded the school bus and left Dyllis Elementary.
The new school is scheduled to be complete by June 22. School officials say Dyllis Elementary will eventually be sold.
It was hard for many knowing Wednesday was the last day students were inside Dyllis Elementary.
Construction on the new school, which is named Dyllis Springs Elementary, is scheduled to be complete in June.
