Pleasant Grove Independent School District's Board of Trustees approved dirt work for the new elementary school during their regular meeting Thursday.
The groundbreaking for the new facility, located at Christus Drive and Galleria Oaks, will be held at 10 a.m. April 22.
The board unanimously approved using Stan Excavating Co. to do the work at a cost of $365,000. Work will begin immediately following the groundbreaking, said Chris Tyler with Nabholz Construction Company, general contractor for the project. He also told the board that construction should be complete by July 3, 2020 and that the project would cost $14.4 million.
Superintendent Chad Pirtle said the entire elementary school would be at the groundbreaking, which will feature the district's bands, cheerleaders and showstoppers and professional photos of each elementary student shoveling earth. He also said they were going to put the students in a PGES formation and take a drone photo.
"Anything worth doing is worth overdoing, especially on something like this," Pirtle said.
Funds for the new elementary school come from a $19.9 million bond voters approved in May 2018 for the school, security improvements and technology upgrades. The district acquired the 12.054 acres for the new school through a land swap with CHRISTUS Ark-La-Tex Health for 4.35 acres at the current elementary site.
In other business, the board also approved an additional $76,000 for technology upgrades and renewed the annual food service agreement with Chartwell's.
In addition, trustees approved a bid by Reliance Plumbing for routine maintenance within the district and to contract with Symmetry for the removal of the turf and track at the middle school. Pirtle said they were highly recommended by both Liberty-Eylau and Paris school districts.
The next regular meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m., May 8 in the Central Services, 8500 North Kings Highway, Texarkana, Texas.