New schools coming to Loxley, Elberta

By KARA MAUTZ
Reporter
kara@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 3/22/23

ROBERTSDALE — Baldwin County Public Schools plan to build new schools in Loxley and Elberta as part of its "Pay as You Go" construction plan.

The announcement was made during the district's …

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New schools coming to Loxley, Elberta

Posted

ROBERTSDALE — Baldwin County Public Schools plan to build new schools in Loxley and Elberta as part of its "Pay as You Go" construction plan.

The announcement was made during the district's Superintendent Breakfast held on March 17 at the South Baldwin Center for Technology.

BCPS Chief Financial Officer John Wilson recapped the program's first four phases before announcing the phase 5 plan to build in Loxley and Elberta.

"In total, phases 1-4 cost about $341 million, and we were able to construct 640 new classrooms throughout the county," Wilson said. "Phases 1-3 are completely paid off, and we expect to have phase four paid off by February 2024."

Wilson said phase 5 will include renovations to Daphne High School, Daphne Elementary School, Magnolia Elementary, as well as an expansion of Elberta Elementary School and the construction of a new Loxley Elementary School and new Elberta Middle School.

Wilson said the current elementary school in Loxley is outdated.

"Loxley Elementary was built in 1978, but Loxley is projected to be the center of future countywide growth," Wilson said. "We are still working on securing the exact location for the new school."

CONSTRUCTION PLANS FOR EACH SCHOOL

Daphne Elementary School:
• Replace flat top buildings

• Build 20 new classrooms
• Increase student capacity to around 1200
• Transition to a K-6 school
• Unify the building, connecting all classrooms under one roof

Elberta Elementary School:

• Convert the gym and cafeteria to classrooms, increasing to 64 total classrooms

Magnolia Elementary School
• Increase classrooms from 52 to 68
• Add new library
• Convert existing media rooms to special education classrooms

New Elberta Middle School
• Enroll 7th and 8th grade students from Summerdale
• Add 16 additional classrooms to existing Elberta High School
• Free up 8 classrooms at Summerdale Elementary School
• Will include 25 classrooms, 4 labs and 4 special education classrooms

• Increase capacity to 700 students

Daphne High School:
• Add new cafeteria
• Convert current cafeteria to 6 additional classrooms
• Relocation of softball field

According to Wilson, the current cost of these renovations will be around $93 million but is subject to change based on inflation.

"We are excited about this additional enhancement, the growth is not slowing down and the people are coming," Wilson said. "We are going to continue running as fast as we can. The future is bright for Baldwin County."