LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two southern Indiana elementary schools will be  merged into one.

School and community leaders gathered Friday morning for a groundbreaking at the new Charlestown Elementary School, where the combined school will be. 

It's something they said has been years in the making.

The new elementary school will combine Pleasant Ridge Elementary School and Jonathan Jennings Elementary School under one building.

School administrators said it's going to house Pre-K through fifth grade in a new, larger building, while also keeping the classroom sizes the same.

The school district said at more than 142,000 square feet, it will be one of the largest elementary schools in the state.

"You want kids to walk into a school building and want to stay there and not want to go home," Superintendent Mark Laughner said. "And that's what we're striving for in all of our facilities is for them to be welcoming, for them to be buildings that have good space — good collaborative space — for teachers and students and buildings that students don't want to leave."

Laughner said school officials had several meetings to determine whether they should renovate the 50- to 60-year-old buildings or build new ones.

He said the costs wound up being the same, and they will be able to build the new school without raising taxes because they have a larger tax base to pull from with more people moving to Charlestown.

The school is scheduled to open in July 2025.

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