The Livingston Parish (Louisiana) school district has begun construction on a new middle school and other major projects.
The district says in a news release that it is building a new South Fork Junior High School in Walker, a new cafeteria and classroom wing for Albany Upper and Lower Elementary Schools in Albany, and a new gymnasium at Live Oak Junior High in Denham Springs.
All three projects are expected to be completed for the 2025-26 school year.
The new South Fork Junior High School will share the campus with South Fork Elementary. The $25 million school is expected to house 800 students when it opens. It will share the cafeteria kitchen facility with the elementary school, but all other facilities will be separate.
The new Albany cafeteria will occupy the space of a former classroom wing on the Upper Elementary campus. The existing cafeteria will remain in operation until the new one is completed, and at that time, it will be renovated for other educational space.
The new cafeteria will have a greater seating capacity, enabling the two schools to serve lunch simultaneously in separate dining areas. The new wing will also include four classrooms and student bathrooms. The project is expected to cost $7 million.
The new Live Oak Junior High gym will replace a facility that burned in 2022. The new facility will have a regulation court, bathrooms, team lockers and a concessions area. The construction costs are being paid with insurance monies and local district funding. The total build out is expected to be $4.7 million.
