Funding now fully secured for construction of new Uvalde elementary school
Editor's Note: The above video is KXAN's previous coverage of design renderings for Legacy Elementary School in Uvalde.
UVALDE, Texas (KXAN) -- Nearly three years after the tragedy of the Uvalde school shooting, the community has reached a milestone in the process of moving forward.
Leaders announced Tuesday morning the costs of the physical building and construction of the new elementary school are now fully funded.
Legacy Elementary School will replace Robb Elementary, which was closed permanently after 19 students and two teachers died in the mass shooting in May 2022.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on the construction site of the new school in October 2023, and construction began in February 2024.
The construction of Legacy Elementary School is expected to be fully completed this fall, and the nonprofit foundation responsible for raising the funding is continuing to raise funds for other campus and district needs beyond the physical construction.
The Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation, which was created to support the construction of the new school, announced that a recent combined investment of $21 million marked the final portion of funding needed to cover the costs of the building and construction of the school, according to a release from the nonprofit.
“Getting to the point of being within six months of the campus being ready for use has been quite a feat that would not have been possible without the support of so many funders and supporters,” said Tim Miller, executive director of the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation. “We are asking that more people join us on this journey of hope and healing for the Uvalde community and support our “Hope Blooms in Uvalde” campaign through which we are still working toward meeting a $5 million match challenge.”
The $21 million investment came from Chase, Empowerment Reinvestment Fund, National Community Investment Fund, and Nonprofit Finance Fund. The investments were made through New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs), a federal program designed to encourage private investment in underserved areas, the release said.
The release noted that an initial round of investment through NMTCs to the Legacy Elementary School project was made in December. That round totaled a combined investment of $24.5 million made by Chase, Prestamos CDFI, a division of Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC), and Raza Development Fund.
Renderings of the school that were released in April 2023 included a tribute to the 21 victims who were killed in the shooting. The proposed tribute is a tree, designed with two large branches to represent the teachers and 19 smaller branches to represent the students who lost their lives.