A groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of construction on a new K-8 school in Fort Pierce that will combine three St. Lucie County schools into one facility. The new school will be built on land behind Dan McCarty Middle School and is expected to welcome between 1,500 and 1,800 students when it opens. It will consolidate Dan McCarty Middle, St. Lucie Elementary and Lawnwood Elementary into a single campus.
Superintendent Jon Prince said the project is moving forward on time and on budget. The new facility will feature state-of-the-art technology and serve the north part of St. Lucie County. The decision to consolidate comes as the existing schools show their age.
All three were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Dan McCarty Middle Principal Latricia Stubbs-James said some of the things inside the building are antiquated.
The district is funding the $70 million project in part by selling the properties where the three older schools currently stand, offsetting the cost of maintaining aging buildings. Prince said the K-8 model is already proven across the district, which operates 11 other K-8 schools. Attendance is better, test scores are better and grades are better in the K-8s, Prince said. Stubbs-James said the K-8 model offers unique benefits, allowing kindergarten students to see what it looks like to be an eighth grader.
The new Fort Pierce K-8 school is expected to be completed in August 2028.