Students, school officials and community leaders gathered Tuesday morning to celebrate the groundbreaking of a major component of the Putnam County School District’s long-term school modernization effort.
The new 146,520-square-foot Palatka Primary School is being built on the site of the current Kelley Smith Elementary School, 141 Kelly Smith School Road in Palatka, which will close at the end of the school year and be largely demolished to make way for the new construction.
Palatka Primary will serve just over 1,000 students and will cost approximately $70,000, which will be funded through a bond referendum voters approved in 2022. District officials said the new school is scheduled to open for the 2027-2028 school year, when kindergarten through second grade students will move into the new facility, while students in grades three through six will have moved into the new Palatka Intermediate School, 156 Horseman Club Road in Palatka, during the 2026-2027 school year.
While Kelley Smith is closed and Palatka Primary is being constructed, students in kindergarten through second grade will attend James A. Long Elementary School in Palatka.
Ajax Building Company is serving as the contractor for the project. Operations manager James Marini, a graduate of Putnam County schools, said building the new campus is a professional milestone and a personal honor.
“It means a lot to build here, where I received my foundation,” Marini said. “We look forward to building another successful school for the district.”
