colorado district wants to build new middle school facility, expand two others

A district school board in Colorado Springs has voted unanimously to put on this November’s ballot a question asking for a $180 million bond that will target a variety of facility projects.

The largest such project in the Harrison District 2 bond package would see the construction of a new building at the current site of the Carmel Middle School at 1740 Pepperwood Drive on the southeast side of the city.

The new facility would house additional lab, classroom, and technology space for a school that currently has an enrollment of more than 400 students.

New space would also be added to the Soaring Eagles Elementary School at 4710 Harrier Ridge Drive, and the Sand Creek International Elementary School, at 550 Sand Creek Drive, allowing them to house middle school students.

Both the Soaring Eagles Elementary School and the Sand Creek Elementary School are also located in southeast Colorado Springs.

Additional spending from the bond will target safety and security upgrades, as well as Americans with Disabilities Act compliance work in all of the district’s nearly two dozen elementary, middle, and high schools.

With a total enrollment of more than 11,000 students that are mostly Hispanic-American, the Harrison District 2 is also largely made of up moderate to low income families.

District officials, in launching a public information effort on the bond called “Opportunity Harrison,” say the November bond election will be the first of its kind in almost two decades.

They also note that the district has suffered a loss of more than $90 million in state funding since 2006.

By Garry Boulard

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