New Sandy Hook Elementary School To Open Nearly 4 Years After Mass Shooting
NEWTOWN, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- Newtown is preparing to open a new Sandy Hook Elementary School to the public on Friday, nearly four years after 20 children and six educators were killed in a mass shooting.
The former Sandy Hook Elementary School was demolished in 2013, WCBS 880's Fran Schneidau reported. The fate of the 57-year-old building was decided by a 28-member task force of elected officials following a series of public hearings.
The decision was made not only to demolish the school, but to pulverize the debris.
The new building was constructed on the same site, but further back on the property.
Newtown Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Erardi says the community will have the opportunity Friday to tour the new 86,000 square-foot building.
"We've offered the opportunity for the Sandy Hook family, the community at large, and for anybody in the Newtown area to be comfortable with the school...see the school and join hands with us to make sure that the first day, we are all set to go," Dr. Erardi said.
Dr. Erardi says the new school has state-of-the art security measures and was designed using input from the local community.
Construction of the new school was completed in 2015. The $50 million project was paid for by a grant from the state.
On Dec. 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza killed his mother before the school shooting and killed himself afterward.