District breaks ground for new K-4 elementary school
May 9, 2016
Students, parents, School Board members, administrators, teachers, City Council members and other community representatives turned the first shovels of ground on May 4 near the site of the new
110,000-
square-foot K-4 elementary school. Ambassadors from the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber also celebrated with the school district at the groundbreaking.
Mayor Del Rae Williams compared preparing the ground for the construction of a new school to preparing students for kindergarten, and then watching as the kindergartener becomes a fourth-grader and the ground “becomes an amazing building filled with children.”
Students attending the groundbreaking were representatives of the current grades K-2 classes
that will be in grades 2-4 when the new school opens in the fall of 2017.
“As we stand here today, the temporary road is being constructed to lead to a new elementary school in Moorhead,” said Superintendent Lynne Kovash. “That school combines the best of our past and our future, the planning, the dreaming and all the work that is happening to make the dreams reality. Community members helped us look at what has been done in the past and what we need to do to provide the best education for our current and future students. We are excited to see the building take shape and then be filled with K-4 students eager to learn.”
Kovash also noted the work being done this summer at the district’s three existing elementary schools.
“Our remodeling work in our existing elementary schools will allow all students to have opportunities for flexible learning areas as well as safe and secure schools,” she said. “We are excited and eager to see all this work begin. As we honor our past today, and those people who had a vision for a bright future for Moorhead Schools, we also honor all of our school community members who will help shape the future.”
Results of Moorhead Area Public Schools’ long-range facilities planning efforts and passage of the Nov. 3, 2015 bond referendum led to the groundbreaking.
The Moorhead School Board awarded the first $11.7 million in construction bids for the new elementary school at a special meeting April 28. Bids for bid group one came in 9.2 percent below estimated working drawing costs.
The grades K-4 school will include academic learning communities for each grade level. Each team space includes six classrooms, large group and active learning space, special education space and nearby locker bays. The core facilities include a media center, music and art classrooms, gymnasium, commons and office space.
Updates on the construction project will be available on the district’s website at
www.moorheadschools.org
as work progresses.
Categorized under: School