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Groundbreaking Held for New Liberty-Curtin Elementary School
Liberty-Curtin Elementary students , faculty , and Keystone Central administrators proudly tossed ceremonial dirt at a groundbreaking ceremony held on January 10 , 2024 to mark the beginning of construction of the new Liberty-Curtin Elementary School .
The elementary school will be located on the same property as the existing building in Blanchard . The existing facilities were built in 1966 and have undergone few renovations since , former superintendent Dr . Jacquelyn Martin said .
“ The existing roof is over 30 years old ... the shingles are literally falling off in every storm ,” Martin said . “ We didn ’ t put any money into it because we knew we were possibly tearing it down and renovating it .”
Plans for a renovation or rebuild started in 2020 , when the existing building was given an end of life estimate of 2025 . After discussions with stakeholders and architects , the administration decided to proceed with a new building on the same site . Building on the same site allows students to stay in the existing building while construction is completed , as opposed to busing them to another school in the school district , which covers parts of Clinton , Centre , and Potter counties .
“ Even though it ’ s only 20 minutes to our next elementary school , obviously there are kids who are already on a bus over an hour to get to Liberty Curtin Elementary School because it ’ s such a remote location ,” Martin said . “ Adding another 20 minutes of a bus ride for them , it ’ s just unacceptable for students K-4 .”
The new 49,500 square-foot building will have K-4 classrooms , art and music rooms , a media / STEM center , and more . Construction costs for the new building total $ 20,487,600 , about $ 420 per square foot . Martin said the administration ’ s priorities for the building are ADA accessibility , safety , and future-focused learning spaces .
“ We ’ re not overbuilding , we ’ re not building a Taj Mahal , if you will ,” Martin said . “ But there ’ s a lot of history and tradition on that location and the folks in our community are really grateful we ’ re building on the same site .”
Construction is expected to be completed in August 2025 , with students being able to move in to the new building for the fall semester . The project also marked one of Martin ’ s last accomplishments as superintendent as she retired January 31st . The district ’ s new superintendent , Dr . Francis Redmon , will start February 1st .
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