The school construction motorists have witnessed for years in St. John the Baptist Parish along U.S. 51 and Airline Highway is coming to an end.

It’s been five years and two months since Hurricane Isaac tore through St. John, displacing countless residents and business owners.

Perhaps no one has been more devastated than the students and staff of Lake Pontchartrain Elementary, who were initially spread throughout the parish in the storm’s aftermath before finding a temporary home in portable structures on the campus of East St. John Preparatory School (formerly known as East St. John Elementary).

Well, the wait is nearly over.

Lake Pontchartrain Elementary officials and leaders say they are eager to open the new campus Jan. 7 on its original site along U.S. 51, making new memories over 110,600 square feet of space, including a gymnasium, that can serve up to 800 children in grades prekindergarten though eighth.

Construction officials tout the school as elevated above ground level through FEMA guidelines to avoid Isaac-level floodwater, should it occur again.

The structure has a brick exterior with a media center in front, which can be used for PTA meetings and community events that can be accessed separately without getting into the whole school.

The school has hurricane construction in the doors and windows, with pre-k and lower grades in one wing; the second, third and fourth graders in another wing and older students in another wing.

The wing design avoids having little children and older students in the halls at the same time.

School Board members and administrators know Lake Pontchartrain Elementary serves as a showpiece of sorts as the first Public Schools structure visible to motorists coming into St. John the Baptist Parish off Interstate 10.

Drivers coming that way already see a community center and library, and local leaders hope the new school shows the public that this community invests in its children.

Although delayed greatly in its beginning, Public Schools Superintendent Kevin George said he is pleased with the school’s construction, noting the School Board has received zero negative change orders on the U.S. 51 school.

“We’ve only had credits added to us because of the changes that we made,” George said. “Because of the zero change orders, we’ve had some additional dollars left over there that now we can use to help East St. John Preparatory. We’re excited. We’ve had a lot of good news over the last few weeks.”

That influx in capital brings us to the School District’s other major construction project — a new East St. John Preparatory School.

The school caught fire in August 2015 when it was known as East St. John Elementary, and, subsequently, its students have used the former Leon Godchaux campus on River Road in Reserve.

Under construction currently, the facility is scheduled to open at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.

“The building itself will be ready in August of 2018,” George said. “Since we just made the decision to add a gymnasium (to the construction process), we have to talk with the community, the principal, the teachers and the kids and say, ‘Hey, do y’all want to wait a few more months until the gym is there and you move in totally or do you still want to move in and know construction will be happening on the site?’

“That part is still to be determined, but the building will be ready in August of 2018. The reason why we had to wait on the gym is because we didn’t know if we would have enough money.”

My suggestion is move in as soon as possible. There is no place like home, and it’s nice to know our students and tax dollars are supporting a permanent home for local education.

Stephen Hemelt is publisher and editor of L’OBSERVATEUR. He can be reached at 985-652-9545 or stephen.hemelt@lobservateur.com.