MOYOCK, N.C. — This week was a day six years in the making for Currituck County Schools families as the community came together to celebrate the ribbon-cutting for Tulls Creek Elementary School.
"I thought this moment would never get here, we've overcome quite a few things along the way," said Dr. Matt Lutz, superintendent of Currituck County Schools, while at the podium Tuesday afternoon.
"Currituck County is rapidly growing, so to have a beautiful school like this is a huge deal for our community," said Marianne Harris, a parent of a soon-to-be first-grader at the elementary school.
Harris was at the ribbon-cutting with her son Thomas. They were also here nearly three years ago for the groundbreaking of TCES. They joined dozens of families to walk through the doors of their new elementary school on Tuesday for the first time.
"Moyock Elementary is where we were at before, and it was getting a little tight," said Harris.
Allowing more space for students is a huge deal at Currituck County Schools. TCES' capacity is 800 students with the ability to expand from there.
"We now have seats at Shawboro Elementary, Moyock Elementary, and, of course, here, which allows for continued growth. We are a bedroom community for the Tidewater region, and so tremendous military presence here, and a new school was sorely needed," said Lutz.
The superintendent also shared something that neighbors can be proud of — they built this school.
"I think what makes it special, is it's a true showcase building, it's built on all local tax dollars," said Lutz.
Principal Barbara Tidd shared what the moment meant to her.
"This is a dream of mine to open up such a beautiful school down here in Currituck," said Tidd.
Tidd is also part of a military family and shared what this school brings to the table for families.
"I know we're going to continue to grow. Just two months ago, we were at 540 (students) and we're now at 650 (students). So I know that as our community grows, we're going to continue to grow, but we're ready," said Tidd.
Tidd painted a picture of just how much room the more than $50 million facility has to offer.
"We have so much room to grow here. We're currently at five kindergarten classrooms, and we could have up to eight. I have approximately five or six per grade level right now, and I could have up to seven on each grade level, which is exciting," said Tidd.
Another positive heading into the school year is that the school is almost entirely fully staffed. Tidd was proud to talk about the backgrounds of the teachers inside the school that will range from right here locally to across the country.
"What is so great is we are not only pulling from Moyock and Shawboro (Elementary Schools), we have teachers from California, Texas, West Virginia. I was able to hire teachers from Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Atlantic Shores Christian Academy. So we are just so lucky to bring so many communities together, so it's not just two schools molding together, it's various communities and states. We're all going to be brand new together," said Tidd.
A massive day for Currituck County neighbors and the future of education here.
"I was a military wife for 25 years, and this is a huge military community, so to really give back to this community too is super special for me," said Tidd.
Many hands have helped make this day possible across Currituck County.
"We had a good plan to open up the building, the county commissioners have funded it properly, so that we can open the building and be in a good place, and I can't say how much I appreciate that," said Lutz.
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