The school, partially funded by the 1996 bond referendum, cost Orange County taxpayers $19.4 million to build.
Walking into the new school, the visitors immediately sensed excitement surrounding the building and people.
Parents were selling Smith Spirit clothing, the seventh-grade band's music drifted through out the hall, and people admired the brightly tiled floors, modern cafeteria and technologically advanced atmosphere.
Located behind Chapel Hill High School, the school opened its doors to students on Aug. 20 but was officially dedicated Sunday afternoon to Euzelle and R.D. Smith.
Between them, the couple worked 75 years in various roles within the community's secondary education program.
In their speeches, both thanked family members and friends who supported them throughout their careers. "We never thought our work in education over the past 70 plus years would culminate in an honor of this magnitude," Euzelle Smith said.
School Principal Valerie Reinhardt addressed the attentive audience made up of students, parents, family and officials.
"When someone walks into this school, you immediately get the sense that our school is different," she said.
Reinhardt also said the school has been nationally recognized for conserving resources.