The Lafayette County School District is similar to the Oxford School District in that they also need a new elementary school.

Oxford has a bond referendum underway to pay for its planned new elementary school while Lafayette is nearing that stage but is not yet there. The issue at this point for Lafayette is where to build its new school.

To date, all Lafayette schools have been built on the same grounds. That structure is both convenient and crowding. Parents of elementary and middle school children can do one pickup, but having everything rolled into one doesn’t give schools much room to breathe.

There’s also only so much that can be packed into one parcel, and that’s why Lafayette is looking for land for its new elementary school outside its current structure.

We consider that good news for the Lafayette County School District and the health of the broader community in general.

Elementary schools are strong community selling points a shiny new facility in a stand-alone location will only benefit our county schools.

Further, it could help county property values since a new elementary would be attractive to families moving into the community.