A 75-year-old school in Willcox is one of many getting improvements thanks to a bond approval from last November. Willcox Unified School District Superintendent Kevin Davis says they received $7 million dollars in May to start on the projects.
“We've always needed to make these improvements," Davis said. "We just haven't had the money.”
Part of the bond funding will allow for the renovation of more than 80 classrooms across the school district, most of which will be in the elementary school.
“The pictures of the old rooms before we started, they look pretty old, pretty rundown, pretty dingy," Davis said. "We wanted to be a great place to send your children to school. And I think that it is.”
Bond committee member Jennifer Wilson says the the bond process takes time. Which is why the work on the projects didn't begin until summer.
“This isn't something that starts immediately," she said.
Wilson says the classrooms were the perfect place to start because of when the funding came in and because, over the summer, there wouldn't be a lot of people on campus.
New paint, floor and electrical work were added to the rooms. In the section of classrooms at the elementary school, the class bathrooms were also renovated.
“To have a new look like this, I think, will really help staff feel like they have a nice place to come to work...," Davis said. "(It'll) build some pride in our school and for our community to see that, too.”
He says some of the elementary school classrooms will be worked on during the school year because the building is older and requires more work.
“These classrooms have taken a lot longer to complete because they're just so old," Davis said. "There was so much more work than they required.”
The bond committee is using Willcox-based contractors to complete the work, to make sure the money stays local.
“We have great support here in Willcox, and we wanted to try to give back to them as much as they give to the community as a whole," said bond committee member, Patina Thompson. "A lot of (them have) even gone to school here. So we can't help but try and use them as much as we can.”
Without the local support, the projects couldn’t be done, Wilson said.
"It shows that they believe in this community, and they're willing to make the investment.”
The bond committee will meet before the year ends to discuss the rest of the projects. Thompson says meeting will be posted on the Yes for Willcox Schools Facebook page and the public is welcome to attend.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9 . She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook .
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