The Isle of Wight County (Va.) district is planning to break ground soon on a new Hardy Elementary School in Smithfield, Va.
The Smithfield Times reports that the design for the new school is modeled on Florence Bowser Elementary in Suffolk.
It will be built in back of the existing Hardy Elementary while the old school is still in use. The old Hardy will be demolished when the new school opens.
Groundbreaking is planned for March 2021; the building is scheduled to open in January 2023 and have capacity for 800 students in preK to fourth grade.
In September, the County Board of Supervisors voted to borrow $36 million, about $27 million of which is earmarked for the Hardy project.
In October, the Board of Supervisors learned that an additional $2.2 million would be needed to buy reverse-osmosis treated water from the town of Smithfield to supply the new school and surrounding community.
The well that serves the existing Hardy campus is high in fluoride — not over the federal maximum but high enough that reusing it for new construction isn’t an option, county officials say.
