Hall County school officials celebrated the dedication of the new $37 million Flowery Branch High School on Thursday night.

Funded by a special 1-cent sales tax, the school on Spout Springs Road opened its doors to 1,500 students earlier this month.

Rev. Rick Goodspeed of The Springs Church in Flowery Branch said at the dedication ceremony that the school building holds new opportunities for students every day.

"We pray that this school, above all else, will commission young men and women for a certain future," he said.

Hall County school board Chairman Richard Higgins said that although the new school is the newest in the county, that alone will not make it a great school. The students, teachers, coaches, administrators and the community are what makes schools great.

"The truth is, FBHS hasn’t changed at all," Flowery Branch senior Emily Wilson said of the school’s move from Hog Mountain Road. "It doesn’t matter how many gyms we have or how many color-coded classrooms. ... Whether we like to admit it or not, this is where we grow up."

Jerry Huguley, director of construction for Hall schools, said the 252,000-square-foot building is the biggest of Hall County’s 34 schools.

He said the school has 86 classrooms. It originally was designed to accommodate a middle school and a high school within the same building, but is now being used only as a high school.

Huguley said the school features two gyms and "plenty of room for expansion."