Knox County Schools is about to start a $5 million expansion project at Inskip Elementary School in North Knoxville.
The Knox County Board of Education is scheduled to formally vote Wednesday on approving a construction contract with low-bidder Evans-Ailey Construction Inc. of Clinton.
The work will soon follow.
Plans call for 11 new classrooms, new administrative space and a new library-media center, according to Carly Harrington, communications director. The addition also will feature a teachers work area, music and art rooms and a bigger cafeteria.
Good news for the children: Playground areas will be improved, according to district plans.
For buses, there'll be a new loading and unloading area. Plans also call for better traffic routing at the school for cars and buses, according to the school system.
The old library will be turned into a classroom.
Inskip now consists of 70,000 square feet. The new addition is about 28,000 square feet.
With the renovation, about 11,000 square feet of portable class space will be taken down.
Inskip is among several schools in Knox County that have seen growing enrollment --- leading to crowded schools. It has more than 500 students.
Inskip is also among the system's more diverse elementary schools, with sizable black and Hispanic populations.
