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New K–8 Coming to North Phoenix
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By Amanda Niemerg aniemerg@anthemnews.com
A
s housing development picks up along North Valley Parkway [See “Home Construction Heats Up,” page 21], Deer Valley Unified School District anticipates the need for an additional K–8 school to serve an estimated 1,000 students in the area. “In November 2013, our demographer provided a student projection that showed the school being needed by the 2015–16 school year, and we began to plan for securing the funding to design and construct the school,” said DVUSD spokesperson Ashley Morris. The school, still in the design phase, is expected to open fall of 2015. The district expects nearby Sunset Ridge and Norterra Canyon schools to be at or near capacity next year. Construction of the new school is scheduled to begin September 2014 at the corner of Bronco Butte Trail
The site of DVUSD’s newest K–8 in the Sonoran Foothills neighborhood is adjacent to the community center on North Foothills Drive. and North Foothills Drive, just south of Dove Valley Road and east of North Valley Parkway. The developer, Sunbelt Holdings, donated 9 acres of the property to DVUSD in 2003. DVUSD purchased an additional 6 acres for $751,281. The $15-million project will be funded from the 2008 bond authorization, which included plans for a new school, Morris said. An additional $750,000 funded by property taxes is projected for off-site improvements to public ways adjacent to school property. As for a new high school, Morris said the district has two sites from which to choose: one at I-17 and Jomax, and the other at 75th Avenue and Jomax near the growing Lake Pleasant area, but there are no current plans for construction. io THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014 |
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