Wake County leaders break ground on Beaverdam Elementary

Local leaders broke ground Monday on Beaverdam Elementary, marking the start of several school construction projects in the eastern part of Wake County.

Beaverdam is the fourth of five new schools Wake County is currently building throughout the county, said school board Chairwoman Christine Kushner. They are funded through a 2013 voter-approved bond that will ultimately build 16 new schools.

Beaverdam Elementary will enroll students from Wilburn and River Bend elementary schools in east Raleigh and Lockhart and Forestville Road elementary schools in Knightdale.

It will become the traditional calendar option for Wilburn students. Currently, Wilburn families who want a traditional calender must travel to Knightdale.

Beaverdam will ease crowding at the Lockhart and Forestville Road schools.

Construction on the $25 million school began in June and is expected to be completed by July.

On Monday, Forestville Road PTA president Candy Galke welcomed the new Beaverdam community to the area and extended Forestville Road’s support as children transition to the new school.

“One thing (these groundbreakings) have shown is we’re a collaborative system,” Kushner said.

While some pockets of Raleigh have seen much faster growth than the eastern part of the city, the school system anticipates growth will speed up in the eastern part of the county.

Until Beaverdam, there have been a limited number of schools for the areas near eastern Raleigh and Knightdale.

In coming years, the school system has several construction and renovation projects planned for east Raleigh and eastern Wake County.

Poole and Rogers Lane elementary schools are currently in the design phase and will be complete by the start of the 2017 school year.

River Bend Middle School on Perry Creek Road is currently under construction and will be finished by 2017.

Rolesville Elementary and East Wake Middle School, in Knightdale, are both slated to be renovated.

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Wake County leaders break ground on Beaverdam Elementary."