Freedom Area School District is making a big leap for the future of the district. On May 6, the community took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the newest edition to the Freedom grounds: a new elementary school. This school will complete the Freedom campus, consisting of the elementary, middle and high schools.
“It was a beautiful night; I think everything went so smoothly with the groundbreaking ceremony. I was very pleased overall with how it all went,” Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Fuller said.
Building the newest elementary school will be the biggest project taken on by the district since the original building of the high school. It will be the next construction project taken on since the reconstruction of the middle school in 1999-2000. According to Fuller, the elementary school is the largest expense the school district has ever spent.
The newest addition to the Freedom campus will be finished for the 2015-2016 school year. Dr. Fuller hopes the teachers will be inside the building by early August of 2015.
The entire construction plan will cost 13 to 14 million dollars. According to Fuller, the money for the construction project came from the district’s savings account and by the district selling bonds. Selling bonds is considered taking out loans, with the school district borrowing 10 million dollars.
“I think it is really going to help the community; the school district can become the center of the community,” Fuller said.
The new building will consist of 17 full-size classrooms.
“I really think one of the greatest values of doing this project is the impact it is going to have on kids as we consolidate and bring everyone onto campus,” Fuller said.