The Okaloosa County School District has unveiled plans for a new 1,200-student K-8 school in Crestview, aiming to alleviate overcrowding in the area’s elementary and middle schools.

• The school board approved the project as part of a $175 million bond issuance during their July 22 meeting. The new school, set to open in August 2026, will be the district’s first new school construction in 16 years.

“This is exciting because it has been 16 years since we have built a new school from scratch,” said Dr. Bill Smith, program director for facilities planning. “I think you’re going to be very happy with the building.”

The new facility will be constructed on 49 acres of an 80-acre parcel recently acquired by the district. Located west of the new Crestview bypass, the site is approximately halfway between the current Arena Road and the railroad tracks, which was just south of Highway 90.

Superintendent Marcus Chambers explained the strategic importance of the new school:

• “With the K-8 school, we’re now able to impact the vast majority of the elementaries in the Crestview area, the two middle schools in the Crestview area, all those schools are over capacity. This is going to provide capacity because we’ll have to rezone students who will go to the new K-8 school. And then as that happens, more capacity will be developed at the current schools.”

The school’s design includes several modern features:

• Two-story classroom wings
• Gymnasium with PE/Athletic locker rooms
• Band and chorus rooms
• Media/Innovation center
• CTE/Science/Art wing
• Cafeteria designed as an Enhanced Hurricane Protection Area (EHPA) Emergency Shelter

The school will feature a curved parent pickup and drop-off area on the north side, with bus pickup on the south side. A frontage road will run the full length of the property, allowing for future expansion.

A notable feature of the interior is the common area or atrium. Smith described it as “a foyer or atrium as you go up those stairs. They will go into the classroom wings, which you see through the window.” Chambers emphasized the multi-purpose nature of this space: “It’s not just the means to get upstairs. It’s also a place that can also be utilized instructionally.”

• The site will also include athletic fields, playgrounds, and ample parking. A traffic study has determined that a traffic signal will be needed at the school’s entrance on the new bypass.

Chambers noted that the 80-acre parcel allows for future expansion: “Strategically, we purchased this land so we had the ability to do two schools on this when the need arises. So when the need arises, we would build an elementary school on the remaining acreage and then the current school would then be transformed, specifically, into middle school.”

The new K-8 school is part of a larger initiative to address growth in Okaloosa County. Along with additions to Destin Elementary and Baker School, it represents a significant investment in the district’s infrastructure.