For nearly a decade, younger students in the Jim Thorpe Area School District have endured lengthy bus rides, been crammed into crowded buildings and were taught in portable classrooms. That will all soon come to an end.

The district broke ground for a new elementary-middle school in Kidder Township, a move that has been in the works since 1990. The school is expected to be open for the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year.The facility, which will cost approximately $19 million, will house students in kindergarten through eighth grade.