Jackson County School Board breaks ground on new K-8 school

JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – Jackson County School board members opened a new chapter in education this week for students in Sneads and Grand Ridge.

Members broke ground Wednesday on the new K-8 school in Grand Ridge.

School officials are combining Sneads Elementary with Grand Ridge Middle School on the Grand Ridge campus. It’s a two-phase project.

For phase one, workers renovated 12 of the middle school classrooms. That work has been completed.

Wednesday’s groundbreaking was for phase 2. That involves 24 new elementary school classrooms and the middle school building.

School district officials say all of the new construction will be hurricane-proof.

The decision to combine the two schools was not popular with a lot of parents. But the superintendent and school board members say it was the best use of the construction money that’s available to replace an elementary school that was 70 years old.

The new school is to be finished sometime in 2026.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com.