The Wentzville School District announced in February it will construct a new elementary school on West Meyer Road in Wentzville. The Board of Education also plans to move sixth grade to all elementary buildings beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.

“We decided, with the support of the Board of Education, to examine a land purchase of the new elementary site,” superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain said. “We are pleased with the location and the cost, which will both serve our district’s needs well.”

The Wentzville School District currently has over $49 million in operating fund reserves, which is enough to buy the land and build the school.

“We have the funds available to start a new school and the means to borrow additional funds if necessary to complete the project,” shared district CFO Pam Frazier.

The District has also purchased 31 acres of land on Highway Z at Perry Cate Boulevard in Wentzville to build another school.

“By building the two elementary buildings at the same time, it allows us to re-district all at once and move our sixth graders into all the elementary buildings, freeing up space we need at the middle schools which are already at or near capacity,” said school board president Dale Schaper.

This will be the eleventh elementary school in the Wentzville School District, and the eleventh school built in the WSD since 2000.

The district is in the process of forming a Boundary Committee made up of parents and staff to help determine the attendance area for the new elementary schools as well as the redistricting of the remaining elementary buildings to allow room for sixth graders and future growth.

The WSD continues to be the fastest growing district in the state, adding on average between 500 and 600 new students each year since 2001.