SALEM, Ohio (WKBN) — A year after Salem voters approved a new school levy, construction for a new kindergarten through 8th grade school is progressing on schedule. The new school will be built on land at the end of Whinnery Road in Salem.

“You’ll see a little dirt moving, possibly in May or June of this year but really the groundbreaking is scheduled for August,” said Salem Superintendent Sean Kirkland.

The new K-8 school will replace the Buckeye, Reilly, and Southeast Elementary schools. The district has already hired the architect and construction company for the project.

Kirkland shared that the design phase is entering its second stage, which will take about eight weeks. The final phase will focus on interior design.

“We’ll really look at the mechanicals and what’s going on in the building, refine some of the spaces we’ve kind of allocated already,” Kirkland explained.

Preliminary designs, which show the layout of the different grade-level areas, are displayed behind Kirkland's desk. He expressed his excitement about the plans, saying, “What I think they presented in front of us is near exactly what we were asking for. So from that standpoint, very excited about it.”

In addition to the main school site, the district purchased another 24 acres of land for $159,000. While they don’t plan to develop it immediately, the extra land could be used for future expansion.

“Because at some point, if we’re able to, we can extend Merle Road all the way through as an exit and another entrance to the school system,” Kirkland said.

The school district aims to complete the project by 2027.