Lamar CISD trustees approve moving Elementary School 37 to Tamarind West, keep $10 million for Peak/Beach Nut site work

The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously March 18 to relocate Elementary School 37 to the Tamarind West neighborhood and to retain $10 million of the district’s funds for land development at the Peak and Beech Nut site.

The decision matters because the district has faced rapid enrollment growth in several neighborhoods and options under consideration balanced near-term capacity needs, site infrastructure constraints and long-term community development. Trustees were deciding whether to delay the Peak and Beech Nut school, keep the school there but add portables at nearby campuses, or move the building to an already-served neighborhood where roads and utilities are in place.

District staff presented three options. Option 1 would keep School 37 at Peak and Beech Nut and add portables at Melton, Haygood and Randall elementary campuses at an estimated cost of $4.5 million from 2020 bond available savings. Option 2 would keep the school at Peak and Beach Nut and manage overflow with caps and portable buildings. Option 3 would relocate School 37 to Tamarind West and allocate $10 million to continue utilities, roads and drainage work at Peak and Beech Nut.

School staff said drainage and existing pipelines on the Peak and Beech Nut site prevent immediate construction there. Staff told the board that drainage approvals and pipeline coordination with developers and utilities were nearly complete but that the site requires 2–3 feet of fill and drainage work. That work was estimated to be complete by February 2026; because of that timeline, a Peak/Beach Nut school could not open until fall 2027 without delaying required site work.

Trustee concerns during public discussion included the potential to cluster multiple elementary schools close together and the long-term risk of aging neighborhoods producing excess capacity. Trustee Regan asked whether building more schools in the same general area could produce too many campuses if neighborhood growth slows in later years. District staff said demographer projections show continued growth in the area, with an estimated 4,500–6,000 additional homes planned in nearby tracts and the likelihood of future additional elementary needs.

After discussion Trustee Secretary Welch moved to proceed with option 3; Trustee Box seconded the motion. The board voted in favor with no opposition. Following that vote, trustees approved rankings from a competitive proposal process for the Elementary School 37 construction contract and authorized the superintendent or designee to negotiate and execute a contract based on those rankings; that motion also carried unanimously.

The district said Tamarind West would allow an earlier opening (fall 2026) because roads and utilities already exist there. The Peak and Beech Nut site would retain funding for roads, utilities and drainage work; the district said it lacks current construction funding to build the campus there but can continue land development until a future bond provides building funds.

The board’s action included two formal approvals: (1) selection of option 3 to relocate Elementary School 37 to Tamarind West, and (2) approval of contractor rankings and authorization to negotiate a construction contract for the relocated school. Both measures passed with no recorded opposition. The board also noted prior public forums on the topic and said staff would continue work on enrollment zones and site development.

Trustees and staff said the district will continue monitoring enrollment projections and drainage/pipeline coordination for the Peak and Beech Nut property; a bond would still be required to fund final construction on that original site. The board did not set an exact construction start date in open session beyond confirming that, for the Tamarind West site, a notice to proceed could be issued promptly because bidding was already completed.