The Stafford County (Virginia) district has broken ground on what will be its 18th elementary school.
The Free Lance-Star reports that Stafford Elementary School #18 will have more than 130,000 square feet of space and will house up to 1,070 students in kindergarten through grade 5. It's being built off Truslow Road on Stafford Plaza Drive in Fredericksburg next to high school No. 6, which is under construction.
"Our county's rapid growth brings the responsibility to provide the best for our students," says Maureen Siegmund, Stafford School Board chair.
Stafford district officials were pleasantly surprised last month when bids for the elementary school came in about $10 million under budget. The school board awarded a $46.1 million contract to Howard Shockey & Sons. The contract includes about $2 million for a parking lot to accommodate 88 school buses and 100 employee-owned vehicles.
The contract cost covers construction only. The total cost for "the land, design, furniture, everything" is almost $66 million, says Chris R. Fulmer, acting school superintendent.
