Sarah Ford, AP Staff
The ground has been broken on an Erie School District project a few years in the making. With school and village officials, Board of Education members, and administrative and teaching staff gathering for the ceremonial groundbreaking at the Annex building on Thursday, June 15.
The building on 5th St. will be completely renovated and a new addition will be built towards 6th St. for Erie’s new Elementary School for students in PreK through 4th grade. The modernized school will feature new classrooms, common space, library, playground and courtyard, cafeteria and kitchen, STEM, music, and art classrooms, Tiny Town, gym, offices and more.
Bray Architects designed the project and Estes Construction is the general contractor.
Board of Education President Jason Norman said the process started a while ago and it’s exciting to see the project finally taking shape. “We’re happy and proud to be where we are,” he said while surrounded by his fellow board members, all with shovels in hand. He thanked them for their vision and many hours dedicated to the project already at planning meetings.
Superintendent Chuck Milem told all who gathered at the site that it’s an exciting time for the district, especially after several years of planning to get to this point. Before lifting shovels full of dirt for the ceremonial breaking ground, he thanked the board members, district staff, school principals and contractors for their contributions to the project. “We’re excited about the growth here, it’s truly historic. It will positively affect the kids and the community for generations to come,” he said.
The total estimated scope of the building project is $17.6 million. The District is paying for the entirety of the building project with district reserves. “This is very uncommon, but our school board has been fiscally responsible with saving the facility sales tax and budgeting to pay for the building,” said Milem.
Once the project is completed, the current elementary school will be razed and the footprint used as a green space for the new school.
The Annex building will be fenced off around the perimeter and off-limits as contractors convert the building into the new school. Site mobilization and earthwork is the first step this summer, and an excavator is already on site. The project is expected to be completed by the 2024-2025 school year.
School Design Plan
