The Campbell County School District has broken ground on the new Grant’s Lick Elementary School building.
The groundbreaking, held on Feb. 3, has been anticipated since the district purchased 80 acres at 293 Nagel Road near Plum Creek Church in 2019 due to the age of the current building, built in 1936. The project is estimated to reach completion in June 2025.
The groundbreaking began with a welcome from Campbell County Schools Superintendent Shelli Wilson, who spoke of the day’s significance as the start of a construction project and reaffirmed the district’s commitment to educational excellence.
“This new building is more than a structure; it embodies our vision,” Wilson said, emphasizing how the facilities will shape future leaders for college and their careers.
The Campbell County Board of Education accepted construction bids for the project in December 2023 from Monarch Construction for $34,088,000, with the total cost of the new facility being $40,364,963.
The project includes a full-site development package, including drop-off and parking for buses, cars, staff and the initial curb cuts.
“This building reflects our dedication to nurturing environments that foster learning, innovation and community spirit,” Campbell County Board of Education Chair Kimber Fender said.
Before the current Grant’s Lick Elementary School was built, the school started as nine one-room schools. According to an old journal about the school titled “In The Beginning” by Elizabeth Vater Florence, the board of education bought 3.1 acres of land for $186. Bids were awarded to Herman Walter, Mentor Kentucky, with a base bid of $34,723.
Vater Florence said in the journal that, at the time, minimum wages were set at 25-75 cents per hour depending on the type of work being done.
During the planning stages for the building, folks were also trying to get a high school built on the property.
“Action by the board of education offered to establish a high school at Grant’s Lick, providing the residents and property owners in said consolidated territory would vote a bond issue sufficient to raise $15,000 by Jan. 1, 1936,” Vater Florence said in the journal.
Vater Florence said before the county board of education could call an election to vote on the bond issue, 40% of the voters in the territory had to sign a petition. The journal says money was scarce, and without enough signatures, the high school was never built.
The elementary school building was ready for occupancy on Oct. 30, 1936.
Vater Florence said in the journal that the school was the focal point of the community war effort during World War II, serving as the location where citizens met to register for the draft and ration cards for sugar and gasoline.
The groundbreaking event concluded with remarks by board member Richard Mason, whose history with Grant’s Lick runs deep. He recalled his time as a student and later as an art teacher and said it was a bittersweet transition from the old facility, but the new school would have a positive impact.
“This future school will allow us to continue to provide the brightest future for Grant’s Lick’s students today and long into the future,” he said.
