By Kelsey DeVazier

The Lafayette County School District’s ongoing bond issue for the development of a new elementary school will be voted on by residents of Lafayette County on Sept. 11. The date was announced during the LCSD School Board meeting on Monday.

Dr. Adam Pugh, superintendent of Lafayette County Schools, spoke during Monday’s meeting about overcrowding, and how the new elementary school would create space and avoid future overcrowding issues.

Since the 2018-2019 school year began for the Lafayette County School District, approximately 2,979 students are enrolled. Currently, kindergarten houses 173 students, a lower number from the end of last year, at 196. However, the 2017 kindergarten class – which is currently in first grade – has seen an increase to 223 students this year.

The lower elementary school had 661 students last year, with 660 enrolled this year. Meanwhile, the upper elementary school contains 697 students, while last year the count was 715.

The middle school saw the most significant change, Pugh said. Last year, the total count was 664. Now, 778 students are enrolled.

“We moved a class of 195 (students) from the middle school to the high school,” said Pugh during the meeting, “And replaced them with 278 students.”

The high school finished with 810 students last year. This year, 844 students are currently enrolled. “We graduated last year with 181 students and replaced that (senior) class with 202,” Pugh continued. “And this has happened two years in a row – our junior class last year had 190 in it, and now they’re the senior class with 206, so we’re gaining seniors.”

Pugh explained that the numbers of enrolled students furthers the explanation for the need for a new building.

“This is why we’re doing what we’re doing with the vote. That number is going to change some; we’re going to keep registering this week,” Pugh said.

He said that the “no-shows” won’t significantly decrease the enrollment numbers.

Casey Rogers, president of Innovative Construction Management, has been working on creating a program of a design for space.

“The life cycle of a project includes programming, and the programming determines our needs and what kind of space is needed to meet those needs,” he said.

Rogers explained that scheduling has to take place, “and we’ve kind of already done that.”

The next phase of the planning will be a schematic design, “where you really start putting a pen to paper, drawing and determining what the space will look like,” Rogers said.

More details on the schematic design of the proposed Lafayette Elementary School will be published in the Aug. 8 edition of the EAGLE.