Cleveland ISD breaks ground on new middle school, elementary campus

A break in the rain Monday afternoon, July 12, provided a brief opportunity for Cleveland ISD and its team of contractors and architects to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for Elementary No. 6 and Middle School No. 2 in Santa Fe Section 6, in the fast-growing Colony Ridge communities south of Plum Grove.

When the two campuses come online in July 2022, they will be part of four schools serving residents in the Plum Grove area. Pine Burr Elementary, also located in the Santa Fe Subdivision, and Cottonwood Elementary in the Grand San Jacinto Subdivision, make up the other two campuses. Elementary No. 6 and Middle School No. 2 will be named by the Board as the opening date nears.

The two new campuses will be built by Pogue Construction, using plans designed by Huckabee Architects with LAN (Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, Inc.) serving as the construction manager.

Elementary No. 6 will accommodate around 1,100 students. The building will be a two-story, 130,000-square-foot structure that will include a cafetorium, gym, black box theater and a band hall. The much-larger middle school will accommodate 1,600 students and include all of the same features as the elementary campuses, but the gym will be big enough to accommodate sports events.

The two campuses are being funded through a portion of a $198 million bond that was approved by voters in 2019. The bond also funded construction of a new Northside Elementary campus on FM 2025 and improvements to the existing softball and baseball fields at Cleveland High School.

To minimize the burden to taxpayers, who passed an $80 million bond in 2017 and a $35 million bond in 2015, the District kept its promise that the $198 million bond would come with a zero tax rate increase; however, rising property values, over which the District has no control, translates to more taxes collected. As new rooftops are being added to the District every year, the burden will continue to spread to more property owners, therefore minimizing the overall impact.