Portage (Mich.) district breaks ground for replacement elementary

Nearly two years after voters in the Portage (Mich.) district passed a $175 million bond proposal, crews held a groundbreaking for a new Central Elementary School.

WWMT-TV reports that the $35 million facility, which will replace the existing Central Elementary, is expected to be completed by fall 2025.

Mark Bielang, superintendent of Portage Public Schools said it's been a goal to improve all of the district's facilities.

"A lot of growth is happening in the south end of the district," Bielang said. "...so this building will be able to absorb that growth and that crowding."

The 2021 bond looked to create 21st-century learning environments by

• Rebuilding elementary schools build in the 1960s.
• Renovating Moorsbridge Elementary School, built in the early 1990s.
• Purchasing fuel-efficient buses to replace older vehicles.
• Updating technology.

Another groundbreaking, for a new Haverhill Elementary, is scheduled for next month.