Hacker Valley Elementary School in Webster County used to be known as one of the worst schools buildings in the state, but Monday parents, the community and state leaders got a look at the brand new building the students now call home.

Classes started in the new $7.4 million facility back in August; Monday was the official ribbon cutting and open house.

Principal Kennetha Parker-Howes says the difference between the two buildings is night and day. "We moved from a building that looked like a barn, had mold on the outside and the floors were falling in. So it's quite a difference,” the principal said.

Seventy students from pre-k through 8th grade attend the new state-of-the-art school. Parker-Howes says it provides the children opportunities they didn't have before. "Our kids have always been really good students, but new spaces promote new attitudes,” she said.  

All but $500,000 of the $7.4 million price tag came from the state School Building Authority. Parker-Howes says the school is in one of the poorest and most rural areas of Webster County and coming up with even a half-million was a stretch. But she says it's worth every penny.

"It's just absolutely gorgeous,” she said.