The current Guntersville High School that is being replaced opened in 1971. Jeff Mims, the maintenance supervisor for the city schools, was going through a file the other day and found the pamphlet from the GHS dedication on October 17, 1971.
Bannie Newman was the superintendent and Bob Neighbors was the principal. Don Ryan was the assistant principal and James Dennis the supervisor of instruction.
The School Board members were chairman Jack Wright, Mrs. John Boggess, Tom Richey, Charlie Pass and John Brookshire.
Lavell Jackson was the mayor and City Council members were Clayton Carter, Sue Sorter, Ray Bice, Malcom Harris and Dave Doby.
Supt. Newman included this message in the program:
“The dedication of this educational facility brings forth a new dimension in public education insomuch as total community involvement has been achieved.
“This achievement received its beginning with a courageous City Council accepting education as a local responsibility, the imposing upon itself the responsibility of securing proper finances and selecting outstanding men and women to serve as a board of education.
“Then the unselfish and total dedication of this board to spend endless hours of concentrated thought and labor in assuring the soundness of the education philosophy; through the acceptance of the community to have a special tax imposed upon itself to assure the boys and girls an educational environment that should produce higher level of individual accomplishment; through the desire of the professional educators to take these acts as a challenge to an improved approach to the daily task of educating the boys and girls; and, finally, and most important of all, through the wisdom of the students who could stop and look at themselves in a total perspective, and begin to develop the latent potential that has always been a part of Guntersville, this project has become functional.
“With all of the above forces working in harmony, I am sure that the future of Guntersville is to be secure in the hands of the citizens that will be the end products of these worthwhile efforts.”
A few facts of the “new” high school were listed in the program:
Capacity – 1,000 students
Building Area – 97,000 sq. feet
Space per Student – 97 sq. feet
Construction Cost -- $1,402,698
Cost per sq. feet -- $14.46
Contract Award – February 25, 1970
Architects – Milberger, Rutland & Associates
Electrical – Robert C. Willis
Builders – Rush Building Company
Teachers at the school at the time of the dedication included Bobby Neighbors, Don Ryan, Peg Alston, Neva Jo Armmer, Joye Beason, Julia Bodine, Sunell Bush, Randall Bean, Howard Busby, Howard Byars, Betty Clark, Carole Connelly, Cdr. Rayburn Dennis, E.B. Dunn, Annette Ellenburg, Maxine Garmon, Robbie Grimes, Edith Hallman, Peggy Harkness, David Hart, Chief Billy Hawk, Wanda Hyche, Robert Johnson, Dorothy Kennedy, Iva Joe Maddux, Clyde Mitchell, Nancy McAlister, Clara McGriff, Corena Nelms, Jacqueline Nelson, Mary Newman, Veeda Posey, Carolyn Rainer, Freda Richey, Glenyce Robins, Mary Smith, Jackie Thrower, Donald Tipton, Enell Wilson and Ed Wright.
Bonnie Burnes was the secretary, Virginia Copeland the nurse, Ozzie Brazelton the lunchroom manager and James Gurley the maintenance supervisor.
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