BELTON, Texas -- Belton ISD broke ground Monday morning at Lakewood Elementary School to make some "new and exciting" additions to its campus.
The ceremony marked the addition of two music classrooms and a standard gymnasium to the school, which was originally constructed in 1986.
In May 2017, voters approved a $149.7 million bond program to fund the construction of two new Belton ISD campuses and smaller projects at two existing facilities. The bond passed by an approximately 60 to 40 percent margin.
When the bond passed in May 2017, Belton ISD Superintendent Susan Kincannon said the district was incredibly excited about the new opportunity to serve students and would listen to input from everyone moving forward.
"We'll grow by 3,600 students over the next decade and this will help us manage that growth," Kincannon said back in May 2017. "Whether you voted for or against tin this election we still want everyone to have a voice."
Monday's ceremony was the first groundbreaking event for the nearly $150 million bond program, according to Kincannon.
"This is a great project for Lakewood Elementary," Kincannon said at Monday's ceremony. "Lakewood has been in existence for 31 years and its never had a standard gymnasium. We are grateful to our community for providing this for our students and the gymnasium will definitely enhance the learning of our students in gym. And the two new music classrooms will be well-designed to support the instruction in our music program."
Kincannon told Channel 6 the gymnasium was a project that had been requested "for a very long time."
The music classrooms and gymnasium at Lakewood Elementary are expected to be completed by August 2018, according to Randy Pittenger, Belton ISD President of the Board of Trustees.
Pittenger said the students were thrilled to learn about the school's new additions and participate in the groundbreaking event.
"Obviously there is lots of enthusiasm," Pittenger said. "[The students] were so excited to participate in this. When I asked them earlier if they were excited about having a new music room and a new gymnasium, they cheered."
Lakewood Elementary currently enrolls 676 students from kindergarten through fifth grade.