At the up-and-coming Adams, Irving and Santa Fe Elementary Schools, the air is heavy with humidity. Corridors are dark. The smells of plaster and mortar are abundant. But come fall each of the buildings will be filled with hundreds of children, ready to learn in the fully functioning facilities.
Cleburne ISD broke ground at the sites May 18, and as that anniversary date creeps closer, work is being completed smoothly, Assistant Superintendent Mike Bailey said.
“We’re very pleased with the way that everything has happened,” he said. “With the quality of the work we’re real pleased, and there hasn’t been, to this point, any issues that relate to construction costs, and we’re still within our budget.”
The three new elementaries to be built, totaling $25.5 million and each housing grades kindergarten through five, are Santa Fe Elementary, off Fergason Road near U.S. 67; Adams Elementary, east of South Brazos Road, off of County Road 429; and Irving, off of Hix Road and south of East Kilpatrick Street.
The schools are modeled after Marti Elementary School’s award-winning design, with a few minor changes, such as added library space.
On the campus exteriors, there are few projects left to be done, Bailey said. Almost all of the campuses’ exterior brick work is done, except for the main entryways, Bailey said. Work on some of the exterior sidewalks and landscaping are also still needed.
Inside the buildings, crews are installing ceiling grids, electrical systems, lighting and tile work.
Work is furthest along at the Adams Elementary site, where crews are working to get the climate and air conditioning system going so they can install ceiling tiles.
The humidity has to be right in the building or the tiles will warp and bend after they’re installed, Bailey said.
Crews are also working to run data cabling throughout the buildings for computer hookups in classrooms and labs.
“In addition to having just a teacher’s computer in the classroom, each of these campuses can have up to five computers within the classroom,” Bailey said.
Computer labs adjacent to the schools’ libraries are also planned.
“The buildings provide a lot of opportunities to utilize technology in education,” he said.
When the basic utility systems are in place crews will add the final touches to the campuses, including carpeting the floors, mounting dry-erase and bulletin boards and installing PA systems, Bailey said.
With all of the work being done, the end isn’t too far off, Bailey said.
“We anticipate Adams finishing up right at the end of May, or the first week of June, and then Irving being two weeks after that and Santa Fe being two weeks after that,” he said.
Though it wasn’t originally planned, the two-week stagger between the schools helps with construction and eases the burden of future projects, such as moving furniture and equipment into the campuses, Bailey said.
“With the completions occurring the way they are, it will help us tremendously with all of the moving that has to occur over the summer,” Bailey said. “The way they’re staggered into two-week intervals has really worked well with contractors, who are working on all three projects, to be able to schedule their crews. We were able to save some money on the total cost of the building, and with the stagger we’ve been able to stay on schedule and everything’s progressed well.”
Philip Navarrette can be reached at
817-645-2441, ext. 2337,
or reporter@trcle.com.
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