SOUTH POINT - Students in South Point Schools may start a new school year soon, but many will start a new chapter within two years.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new South Point High School and Middle School will be

at 11 a.m. Saturday at 983 County Road 60 (Sand Road) - behind the Ohio State Highway Patrol Station - in South Point.

Officials are inviting the community to attend - and to bring their own spade to help toss some dirt.

"We're anxious to get started," South Point Schools Superintendent Ken Cook said.

The target date for completion of the middle and high schools is the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year.

Cook said the district has advertised for bids which are due on July 21. School officials plan to award the contract on July 25 and would like to be moving dirt on July 27.

"It will be a nice building everyone will be proud of and it will be state-of-the-art for the students," Cook said.

In addition to these new buildings, two elementary schools will also be built. Plans for the elementary schools are already in the design stages, but Cook said district leaders want to get the high school and middle schools finished first.

"We want to get it right from the planning stages," Cook said.

At the end of the day, building the new schools will be a $40 million project that includes all four school buildings. The Ohio School Facilities Commission will be picking up 80 percent of the project with the rest paid for by a tax levy passed in 2004.

"It's going to provide a great educational opportunity for the students in the school district," Cook said.