FRUITLAND PARK – A ribbon-cutting held on Wednesday, April 9. 2025, officially opened the new campus of Fruitland Park Elementary School.
The new school at 901 Olive Avenue in Fruitland Park is a compact and efficient single building that provides about 15,000 square feet more usable space than the current structures on the old campus at 304 W. Fountain Street. Students will move from the original school facility, which opened in 1965, into the new school in the fall.
It was built with a focus on safety and security, with restrooms in each classroom, a single point of entry, a courtyard for safe outdoor learning, and improved parent pick-up/drop-off areas. The new building also offers upgrades in terms of energy efficiency, modernized technology, a larger kitchen and dining area, administration suites and a light and bright media center that will be a hub for the school community.
Constructed by DACG, Inc., and designed by Schenkel Schultz, building the new school was a $40 million project with funding coming primarily from the one-cent sales tax for infrastructure, which is shared with the county and municipalities. That funding was supplemented by a local capital levy (a 1.5 mill property tax) and impact fees on new housing units, as appropriate.
Community leaders, including Lake County Schools Superintendent Diane Kornegay and Fruitland Park Mayor Chris Cheshire, attended the ceremony, which was followed by guided tours throughout the school building.