I drove by the new elementary school that’s under construction in Hewitt today – Castleman Creek Elementary. Wow! Construction looks like it’s almost completed. I knew it was time, but didn’t realize that it was getting so close to being finished. Where has the year gone so far?

The new elementary school is located on Hewitt Dr., next to Hewitt Park, in front of Indian Creek Estates. Completion for Castleman Creek is set for the end of July with classes starting on August 26th. If you have a child attending the new school then you may want to know that a couple of days before school starts (August 24th) a “Meet the Teacher” will be held from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Castleman Creek Elementary will serve PK – 4th grade.

Last year, Midway I.S.D. voters passed a $76 million bond initiative.  The bond proposal included a new elementary school (Castleman Creek), a new intermediate school, upgrades and renovations to existing campuses, classrooms and labs added to Midway High School, new bus maintenance facility, new administration building and upgrades to Panther Stadium. I did read an article that said so far, the costs for the bond programs have been running about $3 million under budget.

I don’t know where the final cost will come in, but the budget for Castleman Creek Elementary was $16,654,924. It will have enough room to house up to 650 students. As for square footage (according the design submitted February 12, 2008, before the election), the breakdown is as follows:

• Academics: 39,305
• Physical Education (including storage, coach’s office, and full size court): 5,045
• Dining Area (including cafetorium, kitchen, storage, teacher’s lounge, platform): 7,960
• Administrations (including reception, principal office, counselor’s office, conference room, etc..) 3,945
• Other (Corr., mech. rm, bathrooms, walls, etc..) 27,885

The total air-conditioned square footage is 84,140. Add the porches and the square footage is 86,840, which is about 1,785 sqft bigger than Woodway Elementary.

Below are some photos that I snapped today as well as other construction photos from the 2008 Midway Bond Program Update website:

Castleman Creek will be the 6th elementary school for Midway ISD. The elementary schools for Midway are: Hewitt Elementary, Speegleville Elementary, South Bosque, Woodway, and Spring Valley.

Other projects contained in the bond are either under way (and judging by looks, running on time) or being prepped to begin. The new intermediate school is set to be completed in June 2010.

Of course, the new Midway ISD elementary school attendance map met with some parent opposition whose children will be affected. Some students of Spring Valley Elementary will be attending the new Castleman Creek Elementary for the new school year. Here’s the new attendance map:

Midway ISD Elementary School Attendance Map

You may find some of these websites useful:

Midway ISD
2008 Midway Bond Program Update