Higley school briefs

Higley district OKs land buy for elementary

The Higley Unified School District has approved buying 21 acres of land for an elementary school north of Rittenhouse Road and the railroad, east of Recker Road in Gilbert.

Although the school board approved the purchase Thursday, the district is still negotiating with the seller, the Cooley family, on the purchase agreement.

The price is $2.9 million, which will be paid for through bond funds.

District officials said the purchase of the land is important because the Arizona School Facilities Board agreed to have the district build Centennial Elementary School on a site purchased by the state. Centennial is currently under construction in Power Ranch and is planned to open next school year.

This would allow the district to have a state-funded school built on a district-purchased site, district officials said.

Higley board approves Chaparral class wing

Plans to add a new classroom wing at Chaparral Elementary School were approved Thursday by the Higley Unified School District school board.

An agreement was approved with DLR Architects to build the new 16,175-square foot wing for $161,200. The money will be paid through bond funds.

The classroom wing will bring the school to the same square footage as Cortina and Power Ranch elementary schools. It will increase the capacity of the school from 1,025 to 1,200 students.

The project will take place during the school year, although fencing will be put up for student and employee safety.

Parking lot expansion OK'd for Coronado

Coronado Elementary School's parking lot expansion was approved Thursday by the Higley Unified School District board.

The expansion will include 42 new parking spaces needed to improve the overcrowded parking lot, as well as moving the entrance and exit to the parking lot to improve the traffic flow, said Fred Stone, the district's executive director of support services.

The exit will be moved closer to the road, and the entrance will be moved to make it safer, Stone said.

The plans will cost an estimated $200,000 from bond funds. The actual amount will be determined after the bid is accepted.

Gilbert to install traffic arm to aid Higley buses

School buses and vehicles exiting from the under-construction transportation center will be able to exit easier once Gilbert installs a traffic arm on the east side of Higley Road at Vest Avenue.

The Higley Unified School District school board approved an intergovernmental agreement Thursday between the district and the town to allow the town to install the traffic arm.

The current lights are operational for heading west, north and south, but there is no arm for eastbound traffic, according to district information.

The $50,000 cost for the traffic arm installation was already included in the price for the transportation center.