By Judy Truesdell
Staff Writer

The school district has announced the location of WISD’s 10th elementary school campus. It will be in the eastern portion of the city, off FM 544, across from the Bozman Subdivision, on a parcel of land owned by the district.

If construction goes as planned, the campus could be open for the 2010-’11 school year.
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Student Services Dr. Cole McClendon said district enrollment has reached 12,039, which is about what school officials had predicted the total to be in January 2010.  He said that, although growth had slowed down, it is picking back up again.

The number of students enrolled on Aug. 27 of this year is 6.5 percent higher than the same day last year.

McClendon said four Wylie elementary campuses have 600 or more students: Groves, 649; Tibbals, 665; Smith, 629; and Whitt, 649.  “More than 600 students is really a crunch, not only for personnel, but also for space,” he said.

McClendon said Groves Principal Jill Vasquez said the only place she could put another classroom is on the stage in the cafeteria. The school has already begun holding regular classes in its computer labs, McClendon said.

Brian Miller, assistant superintendent for business operations, reminded trustees that the funding for this school, $13.8 million, was approved in the 2004 bond election. He said the good news is that construction costs are the “lowest they will be” and it’s therefore a good time to begin building.

He also said should this school be built for under the total allotted in the ’04 bond, that surplus could be transferred to some of the projects currently in need of funding. In the upcoming bond, however, the propositions are divided such that this will not be an option. Money must be used for the specific items identified per proposition.

Jerry Gallagher of Gallagher Construction said he thinks construction costs may be as much as 6 to 7 percent below the original estimate and possibly even lower. He said many suppliers are bidding low in order to “hang on and survive” in the current economic times.

Miller said the school will utilize basically the same blueprint as Tibbals, Smith and Whitt, and that should also yield a savings.

He said the proposed timeline includes receiving plans from PBK Architects by early October, board approval at the November meeting, and work beginning as soon as possible with August 2010 as a target opening date.

Although Superintendent Dr. John Fuller said that attendance zones will need to be redrawn, no specifics have been announced.