FRUITLAND PARK — The new Fruitland Park Elementary School, now at 901 Olive Ave., had its first-ever first day of school, kicking off the 2025-26 academic year in Lake County.
Security was noticeably reinforced surrounding the campus, inside, outside, at points across the street with armed law enforcement and school personnel patrolling the hallways and the periphery.
A double-reinforced fence kept the grounds contained with limited access.
The vibe was cheerful as an orderly chaos had frantic parents navigating the police-coned parking lot and dropoff zones. Parking overflowed outside the school, even though it had a sizable parking lot.
According to Lake County Schools, DACG Inc. constructed the new 15,000-square-foot campus, designed by Schenkel Schultz.
The new Fruitland Park Elementary’s construction required a $40 million budget with funding coming primarily from the county’s one-cent sales tax for infrastructure, supplemented by a local capital levy (a 1.5 mill property tax) and impact fees on new housing units, as appropriate.
Because the school mascot is The Challengers, depicted by an image of a space shuttle, and the space theme will be featured throughout the building, a representative from NASA attended the school’s groundbreaking.
The new FPES campus, away from busy County Road 466A, was designed intentionally as one all-encompassing building housing all administration, classrooms, cafeteria and enrichment classes.
The new campus features a central hallway where student work can be displayed and interior access doors.Two hallways from each wing connect to the media center, located at the center of the campus between an outdoor learning area and a courtyard for outdoor performances and activities. Students have restroom access from within the classrooms.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: New Fruitland Park Elementary campus opens doors for first day of school at Olive Ave.
Reporting by Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial / Daily Commercial
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
