Central Elementary School’s future is now in much sharper focus.

The La Grande School Board voted Wednesday to site Central Elementary School building at Second Street and H Avenue.

The board approved a unanimous recommendation of the school district’s Central siting committee. The new building will be located on the south side of La Grande High School at a site, which is now part of the high school’s campus.

The location was one of two considered for Central. The other site was just south of Central’s present location at 402 K Ave.

A major reason the site at Second Street and H Avenue was selected is superior access roads, said La Grande School District Superintendent Larry Glaze said. It will be much easier for vehicles to reach than the site directly south of the present Central Elementary building.

The building will be constructed adjacent to where the La Grande High School student parking lot is.

“The parking lot will be the entry into the school,” Glaze said.

The new structure will replace Central’s present buildings which was built in 1954 and is badly in need of major repairs. The school district did not have the option of building the new Central at the site of the present one because the new building will be constructed while students are attending classes in the present school building.

Groundbreaking for the new Central building is scheduled to start in May 2016, and construction should be completed by the start of the 2017-18 school year.

The building will be constructed with funds from the $31.85 million bond voters approved for the La Grande School District a year ago.

A public meeting for those in the neighborhood where the new school building will be built is set to conducted by the school district on Dec. 1. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. in the gym of the current Central Elementary building.