NEW BERLIN – While the New Berlin and South New Berlin school districts officially merged in July of 1996, more than six years would pass before the process would feel complete. The Unadilla Valley Central School District last week celebrated 10 years since a Jan. 7, 2003 ribbon-cutting ceremony welcomed students, faculty and staff to the district’s new school building.

According to school officials, the move marked the first time the entire district shared one roof. Said Donna Taylor, district superintendent secretary at the time and a position she still holds today, “The building definitely brought the community together. It was the missing piece. ... We were heading in that direction, but it just made it real. Whether you were from New Berlin or South New Berlin, we were UV at that time.”

On Monday, students and staff paused to reflect on the decade that has passed and just what, exactly, the school means to the community. Superintendent Robert Mackey ­– following classes on Monday – met with teachers to discuss their own, personal memories of the new building. Many laughed, he said, as they related how cold the new building was at first and how much brighter it now seemed. Said high school English teacher Suzanne Cleveland, “The school is so much more beautiful and amazing than where we came from.”