LEESVILLE — Officials broke ground Thursday on a $21 million elementary school that will primarily serve military children.

The new South Polk Elementary School will house up to 1,000 students in the first through fourth grades. The facility upgrade will see the moving of students from the current South Polk Elementary, located on Fort Polk, to the new building on La. 467. It will also take first-grade students from North Polk Elementary to ease traffic on the Army post.

It was announced in July 2012 that the Vernon Parish School Board would receive $18 million from the Department of Defense to revamp the school. According to a Defense Department report, South Polk Elementary was ranked sixth out of 160 schools on military bases that needed replacing.

Principal Charlie Balthrop said he is excited to man the helm of the new school and said it was time for an upgrade to the current school, which was built in 1978. He said he expects the school to be a “jewel of the district.”

The school, designed by the Alexandria-based architectural firm Yaegar, Watson and Associates, will feature a multipurpose room, wings to house each grade, a collaborative learning area and a separate bus area to maintain traffic flow. The construction firm doing the work is Tudor Inc., also based in Alexandria.

Fort Polk Progress Chairman Michael Reese said the combined $43 million investment made into the new school and Leesville High School improvements, slated for completion later this year, should reflect to policymakers the importance of the post, which is being eyed for a troop reduction.

“It’s a testament to what the Army says is most important to it — quality of life and education for its children,” Reese said.

State Rep. James Armes said he hopes the school is someday the best elementary school in Louisiana.

The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2016.(MGNonline)