A little more than four years ago, a powerful tornado ripped through Gloucester’s Page Middle School. The decisions that were made in the intervening years have been soundly criticized and the subject of much second guessing.

However, in just a few weeks, the next chapter of the story of Page will be written, with the new school opening its doors on Sept. 8 to incoming sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

While it may seem like an eternity to some—especially from the perspective of an impatient middle school student—a four-year turnaround from destroyed building to brand-new facility is lightning fast in terms of school construction projects.

When those dark clouds advanced up the York River on a Saturday evening in April 2011, few could have imagined that it would have set in motion the string of events that followed. Thankfully, the storm came on a weekend instead of a busy school day. But the damage to the school was still devastating, in terms of the financial co...