INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- It was back to the business of hitting the books in the Independence School District Monday.

It was the first day of school in the district.

Hundreds of kids headed to new buildings that used to be part of the Kansas City, Mo., School District.

Nowlins Middle School was one of six schools involved in the voter-approved transfer.

Staffers, students and parents there said it was time to move forward beyond the bickering over the school buildings.

"A new year, new schools, everything," said Mary Lopez, the mother of a Nowlin student. "I've got another child over that at Rock Creek, so I think it's going to be fun."

It wasn't just the first day for students. Teachers and administrators, for the most part, were all new inside the six transferred schools.

Also for the first time, the students also got to meet their new school resource officer, an Independence police officer who will keep watch over the schools.