By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran made his first visit to the new Junction City High School on Monday. He had an opportunity to not only tour the facility but also to visit with students. "The general impressions are wow! This is an amazing school building." The senator added it provides a lot of assets for educators to teach students in Geary USD 475.
Moran recognized the role that federal impact aid played in helping fund construction of the school because of the nearby Fort Riley military presence. He talked with about a half dozen students, and observed that he was impressed with their plans and thoughts. "Mostly their experiences here in school, how beneficial this educational system is to them. I will return to Washington D.C. with the belief that something as we know good is happening in Kansas, perhaps something great is happening in Kansas with how we're educating our kids."
Moran said the size of the building was amazing to him.
The senator added that the wow for him comes from the use of the school building to convince the Army and Department of Defense that the community is committed to the care and well being of military families. "That matters certainly because they are deserving of that love, care and education, but it also helps us in making the case that when a decision is made about where a unit or brigade is going to locate we will now, particularly now that I've seen it in person, be able to make the case that you ought to understand that the folks at Fort Riley and surrounding community , Junction City, have the well being of Soldiers and their families at heart." Moran added that was demonstrated in the decisions about educating the students.
This marked Moran's first visit to the JCHS site since the groundbreaking for the new school.