The Lafayette County School District has announced two additional public hearings ahead of a Sept. 11 vote on a bond referendum to build a new elementary school.

In a Friday news release, LCSD stated that the first public meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 14 in the commons area at Lafayette High School. A second meeting will be held on Aug. 28 at the same time and location.

Representatives from the school district, as well as the architects for the proposed elementary school and Innovative Construction Management, the construction company tapped to build the school, will be on hand at both meetings to answer questions from the public. They will also discuss the need for the bond and how the money will be used, not only to build a new school, but in other areas of LCSD. The meetings will also include a rendering of the proposed elementary school.

The upcoming vote has been several years in the making for the district which has seen a steady increase in student enrollment over the past decade. LCSD superintendent Adam Pugh has cited a 2.5 percent growth in the student population in previous school board meetings and during the first public hearing regarding the bond.

The current bond proposal is set at $23 million, though the length of the bond has yet to be announced by the district. Estimates released by LCSD put the impact on property owners at an increase of 1-mill over the life of the bond, or $10 per year for a home valued at $100,000.