In early spring 2023, voters approved a Proposition 2 ½ tax levy override to build a new Countryside Elementary School.

On Monday morning, more than two years after that vote, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller—joined by city and school officials, construction crews and about a dozen elementary school kids—hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the project, expected to be finished in 2027.

“You’re going to come back, I hope, and help us cut the ribbon on the brand new school building,” Fuller said to the kids.

The Countryside project is part of a larger citywide effort to modernize Newton’s public buildings and make them more energy efficient, as buildings age out of usefulness and into disrepair.

“This building is really a next-generation symbol of where we want to move Newton Public Schools,” Superintendent Anna Nolin said. “And it’s that way in terms of the way it reflects our ‘Thrive Promise,’ and the way we model sustainability goals for our young people for their future and for them to take on those challenges in  the future as well.”

The building will be heated and cooled using 72 geothermal wells that draw heat and cool air from underground to moderate temperatures inside the buildings.

Countryside Principal Beth Herlihy recalled starting her teaching career there as an aide and, in 2014, being hired as the school’s principal.

“It was a chance for me to come home,” Herlihy said. “And that is what Countryside is for me and what it is for our students and our families. I’m very biased, but I will say it’s the best place to learn and grow, for adults and children alike.”

The total budget for the Countryside project is more than $74 million, and more than $20 million of that is coming from a Massachusetts School Building Authority grant. The nearby Northland development will kick in $1.5 million as well.