 The president's budget proposal eliminates public media funding. Learn how you can help at lptv.org slash action. The project to start construction on the Jean Dillon Elementary School in Bemidji will soon begin. Haiti Clotter shows us how they're breaking ground. Members of the school board, district principals and county commissioners were on hand with their hard hats and ready to dig into the dirt for the groundbreaking ceremonies on Jean Dillon Elementary School. The school is named after Jean Dillon who served on the Bemidji School Board for nearly 25 years. Dillon's widow Darlene was at the ceremony and was touched by the outpouring support. I still am having a hard time I say wrapping my head around this because it's such an honor and I just never ever realized that a school would be named after him. The floor plan was modeled after Lincoln Elementary and that floor plan was used as the basic structure for the new school. One, two, three. Sam Anderson, a civil engineer with Carvaco Engineering worked on the side design of the school mainly focusing on the outside of the building. He says the new school will be an improvement. This is going to reduce a lot of the impact that it has on the current elementary schools overall I think it's just giving a lot more space for the students that we have now in the growing school district. Jean Dillon Elementary will be 120,000 square feet and serve 600 students in grades four and five. It will also have several gyms and music and art rooms for the community to use. We talked at length about what our community needs, what's in the best interest long term of the community and the school district and we came up with a very thoughtful plan to make things better well into the future. The school is expected to open in stores for the first day of classes for the 2018-2019 school year. In Bemidji, Haiti-Claude, Lakeland News. Dr. Hess says although there were many votes against Jean Dillon Elementary School, more than 7,000 people in the school district voted for the school. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.