CLERMONT --A new school opened its doors in Lake County Monday morning.

News 13's Monica Rix took at look at East Ridge Middle School in the hours leading up to the first day of school.

East Ridge has been under construction for the past year in Clermont.

Principal Charlie McDaniel said, so far, they have enrolled more than 1,000 children.  A majority of them were redistricted from other schools in the area. The school is built to hold about 1,200.

Over the weekend, teachers and administrators put some finishing touches on classrooms and got to settle in a bit, but McDaniel said there is still more to be done, even on the first day.

"There are always little touch-list items from touchup painting to televisions. Our television studio is not quite complete. The cafeteria tables aren't here yet, but they'll be here shortly," McDaniel said.

East Ridgeis one of two schools in Lake County opening Monday. The other is Lake Hills School, in Howey-in-the-Hills. It is a new, central location of the county's Exceptional Student Education facility, which was located in Eustis. The school will cater to disabled and special needs students.

Also making its debut this school year is the county's new superintendent, Dr. Susan Moxley.

Moxley doesn't officially take the position until November, when Anna Cowin steps down, but Moxley said she will be touring some schools today, including East Ridge Middle School, to get to know who she'll be working with very soon.

Some Lake County administrators News 13 spoke with said they will not only spend the day welcoming students and staff back to school, they will also congratulate them for their hard work last year. Lake County is officially an 'A' district, earning the overall grade for their FCAT achievements.

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