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By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

PELHAM — A construction project designed to add 11 new classrooms to the south end of Pelham Oaks Elementary School recently began on Oct. 6.

The project was able to move forward partially due to funding from a state bond issue for capital projects combined with Pelham City Schools local funding.

The new hallway addition to the school will include a new section of 10-11 classrooms, the majority of which will be designated for fourth and fifth grade students.

“It’s exciting to see the project getting started,” Pelham Oaks principal Chase Holden said. “We added the new gymnasium and art and music classrooms in 2018, and now, this addition creates a brand new space for our future fourth and fifth graders. We appreciate the collaboration from our school board and central office in developing proactive facility plans that benefit our students and teachers.”

It will also allow the school to deal with future growth with more students arriving at the school.

“The main thing is that we expect to expand the number of students in our school and system, and this expansion will help us to handle additional growth,” Holden said. “I think the biggest benefit is that it provides us with extra space to serve more kids in the community.”

The project will also see the school’s roof repainted, while the parking lot will be resurfaced to ensure durability and sustainability for years to come.

According to Holden, this project and other improvements should be completed by the start of the 2021-2022 school year.

“Pelham City Schools’ enrollment has grown by 12 percent over the last five years”, PCS Superintendent Dr. Scott Coefield said. “The new classrooms will provide more space for students and teachers at Pelham Oaks and create similar-sized elementary schools in our system.”