New Chandler schools sprout a crop of classrooms

The Chandler Unified School District's newest schools will open in less than a month. Getting there from the district offices means driving past cows, corn and other crops.

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But the district is banking on future growth in south Chandler to fill the classrooms.

Haley Elementary School in the Layton Lakes area is surrounded by cornstalks. Outside on Monday, crews were painting lines on the basketball courts and desks were delivered. In a week or two, grass should appear on the ballfields.

Charlotte Upham Patterson Elementary School is surrounded by dirt, lots of it. Not much else rests in the future Adora Trails area south of Riggs Road, just east of Val Vista Drive. The power is on, and crews were working this week on landscaping and adding classroom items such as marker boards.

What isn't directly around either school are lots of houses - yet.

"Because of the housing market we're not going to be chasing the growth, which is a pleasure to have that situation," said district spokesman Terry Locke. "You're always trying to be a step ahead of the game."

Both schools are serving areas beyond their immediate view. Patterson's attendance boundary is about 5 square miles, and Haley's is about 3 square miles, Locke said.

Boundaries for the new schools were redrawn to relieve Ryan and Weinberg elementary schools and will include students from new housing developments. The district expects each school to open with about 400 students on July 28. At capacity, each will have 950 students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

The two campuses - Haley with about 86,000 square feet of enclosed building and Patterson with about 89,000 square feet - cost about $11 million to build. The district will not qualify for another school from the state School Facilities Board for three to five years, Locke said.

Pamela Nephew is the principal at Haley. Kris Palbykin is principal at Patterson. "Meet the teacher" events are July 25 at both schools. Classes begin at 8:30 a.m. July 28 at Haley and 8:35 a.m. July 28 at Patterson.

The school offices open July 14 for registration. If the new campuses are not ready at that time, parents can go to Ryan and Weinberg. Last year, the district opened Perry High School with freshmen and sophomores. Juniors will join the mix this year.