Navarro board, staff, students break ground on new high school
15 Sep 2023
Navarro ISD
Felicia Frazar The Seguin Gazette
Hand-in-hand with students from all Navarro campuses, the Navarro ISD Board of Trustees broke ground on a new high school Wednesday.
Almost two years after voters approved a $130 million bond referendum, the district celebrated the official start of a two-year construction project on the new $97 million campus.
“We are thrilled to be here,” Superintendent Mandy Epley told the crowd gathered at the empty field just south of the Navarro ISD complex. “Today is a day long anticipated. It is a milestone that marks our district’s legacy of success and our increasing growth.”
In November 2021, the district sought a $130 million bond to buy land, build a new high school to replace the current facility and construct a new elementary to coincide with the current campus.
In addition to the community approving the bond, the district was able to negotiate the purchase of land across Link Road from the current complex to build the high school with a pair of longtime community members, Epley said.
“The generous land donation from the Bartoskewitz Farm Foundation and support of the Puls Family in this site purchase and development speaks to the heart of the origin of this project and it echoes the spirit and values of our district and community,” Epley said.
The new campus site ties the area’s history with the students’ future, Epley said.
“All of you gathered here today tread on the earth that has for generations been the agricultural foundation of this area,” she said. “You all will have the opportunity to see it transform into the foundation of learning for so many Navarro ISD students. From a golden field of corn to the home of gold and purple pride, this land will cradle our future.”
The continuous growth the district has seen prompted the need for a new high school and new elementary school, Navarro ISD School Board President Renee Rehfeld said.
The new high school and eventual new elementary campus will help ease those growing pains, she said. The district will continue to make changes as it prepares for the future, Rehfeld said.
“It is definitely needed,” she said. “As we’ve seen, the demographic studies have shown different areas of growth, where elementary is going to be more of an issue and we had to adjust, moving third grade to the intermediate school, moving sixth grade to junior high school. We’ve got a great visioning and strategic planning group that is going to look at what are the next buildings we need to be looking at.”
As the construction moves forward, Epley said the district will continue to find ways to use the taxpayer dollars wisely.
“That is a big part of the process now as we start to build and work with the contractor to really make sure we are responsible with the money that has been given by the community, so everyone is proud of the product at the end and we fill like we’ve done all we can to support what our community wants and what is best for our kids,” she said.
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