An earthmover waits to begin work on Deer Creek’s newest elementary school following the groundbreaking Wednesday morning.

EDMOND — A freezing winter morning didn’t keep Deer Creek Elementary administrators and board members from breaking ground on the fourth elementary school Wednesday. Wrapped in coats and scarves they heartily dug into the dirt before hopping back into their heated cars.

Superintendent Becky Wilkinson said the district thought construction would not begin on the new elementary until September 2009, but a change in financial fortunes enabled an earlier start.

“We are really appreciative at Deer Creek that we are doing this today,” she said.

Shelley Denton, board of education president, said the district was able to start sooner because Kirkpatrick Bank lent the district a $4.5 million line of credit.

“I know this was a team effort to make this happen,” Denton said. “I’m excited to start this so early.”

Cynthia Archiniaco, director of marketing for the bank, said Deer Creek can borrow money as it goes along instead of taking the money as a lump sum.

“They don’t have to use it all,” she said.

Denton said the total cost of construction of the new school will be about $8 million, which will be covered, in part, by a $31 million bond that was passed in February 2006. The land actually was donated by Caliber Development.

“As Deer Creek was looking for a place to build we had the opportunity to donate a small piece of our land,” said Chris Dunning, vice president of marketing for Caliber.

Caliber donated 13 of its 640 acres to the district. The company also is building a new neighborhood, “The Grove,” with about 230 new homes. Elementary-aged children who live in “The Grove” will attend the new elementary.

Matt Thomas, with CMS Willowbrook, the construction firm building the new Deer Creek Elementary school near Danforth and Portland, puts hard hats on a line of golden shovels before the official groundbreaking Wednesday morning.

Wilkinson said the school will be designed to hold about 500 students, which is the number the district tries to have in all the elementary schools.

“Two of our three (schools) have gone over (that number),” Wilkinson said.

Socrates Lazaridis, principle architect for Renaissance Architects, said the new school will have a media center in the central area of the building with four wings extending from it.

“The school wanted to be able to supervise kids from a central area,” Lazaridis said. “Most importantly, this project has a storm shelter.”

He said the cafeteria was constructed according to FEMA’s safe room requirements.

The district plans for the new school to be ready in time for the 2009-10 school year.