Warren County Public Schools is Kentucky’s fourth-largest district and sees no signs of slowing down.

Now, leaders expect to break ground on another school this year.

The district’s Board of Education last week approved contracts with Sherman, Carter, Barnhart and the Alliance Corporation for architectural and construction manager services for a new Dillard Road elementary school.

“Within the next six to eight months, my team will work together on designing that building and getting the construction bid packages ready for board consideration with a goal of starting site work this fall,” said Chris McIntyre, WCPS chief financial officer and construction supervisor.

McIntyre said the goal is to begin site work by September or October. He said the Dillard Road location was chosen to further accommodate growth in southern Warren County.

“Rich Pond (Elementary) has experienced 250-student growth since it opened, Jody Richards is continuing to grow, Lost River continues to grow, Plano continues to grow,” McIntyre said. “That southern sector has really been our biggest growth area in the last two years, and based on what I’ve been told by all our partners, they don’t perceive a slowdown in that growth.”

He said the building will cost roughly $38.5 million, which was expected based on similar projects. He compared it to the new Warren Elementary School, which received a $37.9 million bid package last August and broke ground in September.

“It’s the same size building (as the new Warren Elementary), roughly the same layout of the building,” McIntyre said. “We’ll change a couple of things on it, but everything will be similar in nature.”

McIntyre clarified that while the building’s footprint will look almost the same as the new Warren Elementary, the exterior look will be “drastically different.”

He said his team recently shared visions for the design with the board but he is hesitant to share them publicly in case major changes are made in the process.

Despite the increased labor and capital the district’s growth demands, McIntyre called it a “blessing” to see more and more families enrolling in the district.

He attributed the growth to the success of both WCPS educators and opportunities presented by Western Kentucky University and Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College.

“All of them play a factor in why people want to relocate here because nobody wants to bring their family or kids to a community where they’re second-guessing the value of the school system in which they’re enrolling their kids,” McIntyre said.

He added that the district is already working with county government officials like Judge-Executive Doug Gorman and members of the City-County Planning Commission to anticipate the next location for a new school.

McIntyre said some “decent rumors” have turned their preliminary attention to northern parts of Warren County, but no solid decisions have been made yet.

“If (the rumors) move into more of a concrete state and move toward planning and zoning, it will take them a couple of years to get dirt work started and housing started,” McIntyre said. “But after that, it’ll make a dramatic impact on the north side of town.”