Columbia Elementary rebuild breaks ground

“Well, it’s about time.”

Las Cruces Public Schools board member Bob Wofford opened his speech with a sentiment many might have been thinking Thursday morning, standing or sitting in folding chairs on slightly muddy ground prepared for construction of the new Columbia Elementary School.

The original school, built in 2003 on Elks Drive in northern Las Cruces, was abruptly closed in September 2018 over persistent and severe mold infestations that had plagued the school since it opened. The grounds of the school, sitting in an arroyo, were also subject to flooding, although the school district determined that flawed construction, rather than storm runoff, was behind the mold.

It was only after the school was shuttered that district staff cut into a wall and discovered that a subcontractor had evidently installed vapor barriers backwards, causing them to move moisture into the internal walls over the years, allowing mold to infiltrate and spread. By then, the building had been in service for 15 years.

In a single day, the entire elementary school shifted to the campus of Centennial High School, 10 miles away, and has remained there for over five years without a permanent building of its own.

The school board agonized publicly in deciding whether to rehabilitate the original building or demolish it, and where to build a new school. Ultimately, the school building was torn down in 2022 with plans to construct a new building retaining the original name, at a different spot on the same property.

The entire student body of Columbia was present, many of the girls in colorful ballet folklorico dresses and all wearing small construction helmets colored orange, yellow, blue, pink, gleaming in the sun like a field of Easter eggs.

Construction equipment flanked the ceremony as workers with contractor HB Construction looked on. Architect Ray Vigil was seated in the audience.

Among those Wofford thanked during his speech was Centennial, for continuing to house the elementary school over several years, and county voters who approved bond issues needed to complete funding for the $64 million project.

Wofford also talked about the school’s name, chosen by the community in honor of the space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated during a mission on Feb. 1, 2003, killing seven astronauts who were on board. Prior to the shuttle, Wofford walked through numerous historic seacraft that had worn the name.

“’Columbia’ symbolizes renewal, inspiration, hope; it is … the renewal of our country, personified,” he said.

For the ceremonial groundbreaking, the district set up boxes of loose earth in two rows. District staff and three school board members joined Ruíz for the honors, while a row of Columbia students lined up in front.

The new school building will be larger than the original, at more than 103,000 square feet, enough to accommodate 752 students, with specialized classrooms serving pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade and modern computer technology and labs and spaces for art, music and science instruction. The campus will include an offsite retention pond to protect the grounds from runoff.

The district plans to have it ready for the 2025-26 school year.

“The facility is not just a structure,” LCPS Superintendent Ignacio Ruíz said in a speech. “It’s a bright beacon of our commitment to nurturing the minds and hearts of our students.”

When Columbia was shuttered, its student population was a little more than 500. Over the years at Centennial, enrollment has dwindled to “just under 200” students, LCPS spokesperson Kelly Jameson told the Bulletin.

When the new Columbia opens, Jameson said, “We will need more staff, but it’s unclear right now if we will hire additional or make adjustments from other schools.”