New Petal Elementary School campus gives students room to grow

Petal School District has opened a new Petal Elementary School campus for third and fourth graders. It began operating in the 2026-27 school year and was paid for through the district's 2023 bond referendum, which voters approved. The building is larger than 90,000 square feet and has separate halls for each grade, a full-size gym, robotics and science rooms, courtyards for art and the library, spaces where teachers can work together, and a cafeteria that doubles as a storm shelter.

Superintendent Matt Dillon says enrollment figures drove the decision, with the district adding roughly one classroom's worth of students every year. He says that before the new school, some teachers taught in rooms not meant for instruction and some programs lacked enough space. The article reports that the bond package carried a 4.5-mill property tax increase for people living in the district. Several classrooms were built to be used later as enrollment rises.

The old elementary school next to Petal High School has become the high school's East Campus. Teachers who had been working in nonacademic areas, such as field houses, can now use proper instructional rooms. The district held a ribbon-cutting at the close of the first nine weeks of the school year, with students, staff and community members present. Dillon says families, teachers and students have expressed pride in the building.