Chicora Elementary School in the Karns City Area School District will be under construction over the course of the next two summers.

The building will undergo numerous updates, including a new classroom wing, a separate cafeteria and an all-purpose outdoor playing field.

Karns City's Superintendent Eric Ritzert said the project is in the final stages of planning and will go out to bid for contractors this winter.

“We hope to enhance the facilities for consolidation of the elementary schools,” Ritzert said. “The changes will make the place better.”

Ritzert said plans to combine Chicora and Sugar Creek elementary schools into the renovated building have been in the works for some time.

“With declining enrollment, it will make our operation more effective,” Ritzert said. “We're bringing our resources together instead of splitting them.”

Substantial work on Chicora Elementary will take place during the summers of 2022 and 2023. Ritzert said major construction should be completed in August 2023.

More than 650 students will occupy the new building with the consolidation.

Ritzert said Chicora's gym currently serves as a cafeteria space as well. The new building project will provide a larger space to serve as the cafeteria and as a facility for community use.

The project will cost $20 million, and Ritzert said there already has been interest from local contractors to work on the project. “We're optimistic that local contractors can do some work (for it),” Ritzert said.

Ritzert said although everyone might not support the project, he believes the community will change its mind when it sees how it affects students.

“Students will be pleased,” Ritzert said. “(The project) is a go. We have a plan, we have the money and we'll have better resources to serve our students.”