Monday night Uvalde got its first look at the design for a new $50,000,000 elementary school to replace Robb Elementary in Uvalde.
This meeting comes about a week ahead of the Robb Elementary mass shooting six-month mark.
“It’s always going to be difficult whenever you were doing something knowing that we probably wouldn’t be getting this school if a tragedy didn’t happen. So, we are aware of that we want to be respectful of that,” Lalo Diaz is a co-chair of the community advisory committee.
The committee came up with a suggested location and design for where the district’s new elementary school will be built.
The option they have chosen to present to school board on Wednesday is option three they showed to the audience. It would be nearby Dalton Elementary school.
The pros listed on a poster board for this location includes the following: access to utilities along Leona road (water, electric, gas and waste water), minimal topography, site greater than 800’ wide to allow for more buffer space, adjacent to Dalton Elementary (grades PK-1 adjacent to grades 2-4), additional acreage to allow for more outdoor learning space and detention pond, synergy between campuses to allow collaborative instruction and shared facilities and efficient bus transportation routes.
The cons listed on a poster board for this location includes the following: minimal trees/shaded areas, access to site from south and west (through Dalton Elementary site), main entry can only face south to Leona road.
Second through fourth grade students will be taught there, which is the same grades as what Robb Elementary held.
“Earlier [Monday] privately we presented at 11 o’clock we presented to the victims to the 21 victims’ families at 1:30 to anyone that was injured so we presented to them privately before we presented here at this venue,” Diaz said.
Michelle Prouty lives near Robb Elementary and appreciates the Uvalde Moving Forward Foundation holding the meeting for the public ahead of when it will be presented to the school board at their next meeting.
“I mean this is a step in the right direction. They need to talk to us, and they need to include the community in general as well as these families that have been directly impacted,” Prouty said.
Officials say their goal is to finish construction by October 2024.
“Delays in construction supply chain issues could potentially slow that down. If supply chain issues aren’t an issue that process could speed up,” Mickey Gerdes, Treasurer of Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation said.
Gerdes also adds that about $18,000,000 has been raised so far towards the $50,000,000 mark and there will be more fundraising events, which includes one in San Antonio. The money will be going towards land, labor, material and fees according to the presentation.
Land will be donated by the current property owner to allow for there to be no tax rate increase and no bond election necessary. According to the presentation “state or federal funds received will be used to support the design and construction of the school, for items like infrastructure, safety and security, and other needs.”
This presentation will be given again at Wednesday’s school board meeting.
According to the presentation given Monday, the Uvalde CISD school board at that time will “select the site for the school and approve the program of spaces as well as conceptual design.” They will then “designate a method of compliance for TEA school facilities standards and propose quantitative method of compliance.”