Middle school moves on

The students and staff who’ve attended or worked at Mead High School and later Mead Middle School at 12509 N. Market St. will get a last chance to peek inside during a closing reception on June 12 at 6:30 p.m.

A new Mountainside Middle School at 4717 E. Day-Mount Spokane Road will open in September, leaving the old building available for other uses.

In the meantime, Principal Craig Busch wants students, parents, staff, former students and former staff to drop by the school and mingle one more time.

“This thing has really stood the test of time,” Busch said of the 1927 school building.

The new middle school will host a community open house and dedication on Sept. 18 from 5 to 6 p.m.

Mountainside was given a new name at the recommendation of students, parents and staff to prevent confusion between the new middle school and the old building.

“It will always be Mead Middle School to the community,” Busch said.

The old building has, as one staffer put it, “that school smell.” Its longevity makes it a special place in the history of the Mead area.

Well-known graduates include professional football kicker Jason Hanson and tennis star Jan-Michael Gambill. But there are thousands of other students and staff who have walked the halls here. This year’s student population is about 700.

Dave Tikker, counselor and athletic director, joined the staff in 1979. “It seems like it was yesterday,” he said.

He said he is hoping for a big turnout on June 12. “That will be fun to see the old staff and students,” he said. But he isn’t sad. “I’m ready for a new building,” he said.

Another staff member said, “We’ve probably got a lot of duct tape and gum holding us together.”

The school is a group of buildings that were erected at various times, but the original Union High School Building at the front of the complex was built beginning at the end of 1926 after voters in the school district approved the $35,000 construction project that year. The architect was George M. Rasque, who was known for designing other local school buildings in the period. Bricks on the building were fired in Mead.

The 1926 high school graduating class was only 15 seniors, according to school records.

The new and much larger middle school is budgeted at $33 million.

Union High became Mead High in 1933, and the building was a high school until 1972 when a new Mead High School opened. The building was Mead Junior High from 1972 to 1997, when it became a middle school.

Busch said the district plans to keep the buildings open. Possible uses include offices for the maintenance department, space for park programs and club sports, community programs and school district training programs.

“It will become another asset for the community,” Busch said.