RAWLINS - Construction is expected to start in August on a new elementary school in Rawlins that could to eventually replace three existing schools.

The Carbon County District 1 School Board budgeted $28 million for the project, but the architect says the actual cost may be less because of the recession.

The school will house nearly 690 students in second through fifth grades. It will have 36 classrooms and nearly 95,000 square feet.

Construction is expected to take 16 months.

The Wyoming School Facilities Commission determined that except for Highland Hills Elementary, Rawlins' existing elementary schools were almost at the end of their life span.