Putnam County Schools constructing a new parking lot at the Early Learning Academy to accommodate the specific safety and logistical requirements of a pre-K-only facility.
Deputy Director of Putnam County Schools Tim Martin said the project will add approximately 55 parking spaces to the south side of the campus. Martin said the school system initially believed the existing infrastructure would be sufficient but determined during the planning stages that more space was necessary.
“We needed additional parking so that… this is the first time we’ve had a whole school that was just, just pre-K kids,” Martin said, “At any rate, those parents have to park and walk their kids in. We can’t just have a car line where they drop their kids off.”
Martin said the new lot being built on the back side of the school where a baseball field was previously located will cost some $173,630. Martin said the project is being funded through a bond issue and was identified as a priority to ensure the safety of the small children attending the academy.
“We’ve got some really small children that were going to have to be walked in from, from pretty far down the street and, this just… once we saw all of the… all of the factors, it was identified as a priority,” Martin said. “I do think that we could still make it with the additional parking if we had to, but it’s not ideal.”
Martin said the construction site is currently separated from the students by temporary fencing to ensure that normal school operations and parent drop-off lines are not impacted. Martin said the work involves surveying and topsoil removal, though the most significant technical aspect involves managing water runoff.
“The biggest part of this project is probably that we have to address the drainage that will come off the pavement,” Martin said. “So there’s going to have to be a detention pond back there and you’ve just got to make sure that the, the ground is all tilted in the right directions and those kinds of things. So that takes a little bit of time.”
Martin said the school has already divided the campus into zones so that parents can park near the specific area of the building where their child’s classroom is located. Martin said that while staff and families have worked together to navigate the first few weeks of the school year with limited space, the new lot will alleviate congestion around the gym and the front of the building.
“That’s the main driving force,” Martin said. “And, and to be honest with you right now, I mean, everybody is… everybody’s kind of pulled together and kind of worked through this first few weeks of school. But we hope when that, when that parking lot gets open, it’ll be even better for everyone.”
Martin said the project is expected to be completed around September 1st.
