With its two existing elementary schools already past capacity, the Mesa County Valley School District 51 has decided it is past time to build a third such school.
The district is mostly made up of the city of Fruita, which has seen its population jump from 6,400 in 2000 to more than 13,000 today.
That growth is attributed to a larger regional population shift seeing more people, often from the metro Denver area, moving into the open rural spaces of western Colorado as it hugs the Utah border.
In a presentation to board members in October by district chief operations officer Phil Onofrio, it was learned that Fruita is seeing the construction of at least 120 new homes a year.
That growth, continued Onofrio, means around 420 new district elementary school students every year.
In response, the district board has given their approval to seeing the construction of what is estimated to be a $25 million new school. Funding for the project will come from bonds and other sources.
With a search now on for a designer and general contractor for the project, it is hoped that the new Fruita elementary school could see construction later this year, with a fall 2020 completion date.
By Garry Boulard
