It took one year, ten months, one day and $39 million to go from ground breaking, to cutting the ribbon on the new Fort Riley Middle School Thursday.

Of the $39 million cost 80 percent was funded through the Office of Economic Adjustment with a 20 percent local match.

Patrick O’Brien, Director of the Office of Economic Adjustment explained that the idea of a new middle school began after a military spouse stood up during a town hall meeting in 2011 put on by then Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates.

“It took the courage of a military spouse to stand up and express concern over the environment that her child was being educated in, for the bureaucracy and the pentagon to sit up and say maybe we should be doing something,” said O’Brien.

Three years later the ribbon has been cut on the new Fort Riley Middle School, replacing the former 50 year old school that used to sit where the new north parking lot now is.

The school did open on time for the 2014-2015 school year and features 64 classrooms, an 800 seat main gym and an auxiliary gym with an additional 233 seats, an 800 seat auditorium and vocal music, band and orchestra rooms.

It is nearly double the size of the former school and can hold nearly double the number of students as the former school.