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Queen Creek Unified board hears progress on new schools, turf project and bus yard
Summary
District staff reported completion and near-completion milestones for multiple construction projects, including Mountain Trail Academy, a turf replacement at Queen Creek High funded by a WIFA grant, and parking additions for Eastmark and Chrisman high schools as state facility funds were released.
President Samantha Davis and Queen Creek Unified School District staff received a multi-site construction update at the governing board’s regular meeting that covered recently completed work, projects nearing completion and scope additions made possible by state facility funds.
"This week is gonna be a very exciting week for the school district and the Mountain Trail community," Bob Lawson, who presented the project status, said, adding that building construction is complete at Mountain Trail Academy and that furniture and specialty items were scheduled for delivery in May and June. Lawson said final punch-list inspections are finished and the final owner-contractor meeting was scheduled for the following morning.
The district said Mountain Trail Academy is a state-awarded elementary school of about 90,000 square feet, expected to serve more than 1,000 students, with a public sneak-peek event scheduled the week after the meeting. Amber Bordis summarized regional growth across the district and said all projects in the update fall under the district priority area of "effective operations and systems." She said most projects are funded by the state Schools Facilities Division (SFD) and additional grant funding from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA).
Work described in detail included: - Mountain Trail Academy: construction declared complete; final roadway, paving and concrete work wrapping up; furniture deliveries in May; specialty equipment arriving in mid-June. District staff said punch-list inspections are complete and final handover was imminent. - Queen Creek High School turf replacement: a synthetic turf installation funded by a $2,700,000 WIFA grant has been completed and the district held a ribbon-cutting in April; remaining work is primarily the retention basin, reported about 90% complete. Superintendent Perry Berry said the turf is expected to conserve an estimated 280–420 acre-feet of water over the next 25 years and that the district estimates water-cost savings of roughly $652,000 to $978,000 over that period, figures provided by district staff as part of the project’s financial rationale. - Satellite transportation yard at Queen Creek Junior High: crews installing site lighting, security fencing, CMU perimeter walls and underground utilities; paving, curb and gutter work are in progress and subgrade deliveries are being prepared to support increased bus parking. - Eastmark High School: SFD-awarded 62,500 square feet will add three buildings to complete most of the campus master plan short of a performing arts center (SFD will not fund the PAC); staff said additional parking and the remainder of the academic wing are included in the approved scope. - Chrisman High School: an SFD award for a 23-classroom addition is under construction with rooftop HVACs in place, ceiling grid and restroom tile largely complete; a temporary generator is in use until a site transformer is installed; site final turnover anticipated in early July.
Amber Bordis told the board that in cases where the SFD withholds the standard 3% closeout retention, the division has now released those funds for several projects, enabling the district to add defined scope — notably parking — without using local funds. District staff recommended board approval of additive change orders to expend SFD-allocated funds to enlarge parking at multiple campuses.
Board members and public speakers also described community response to the new turf. Queen Creek High head football coach Travis Sherman thanked the board and district staff for pursuing the grant and said the new field has improved safety and community pride.
The update included construction percentages and component-level details such as nearly complete restroom tile and fixtures at classroom and performing-arts additions, ongoing metal siding installation on gym exteriors, concrete floor polishing in classroom additions, and scheduled roof and paint work on a concession building.
District staff said they will return to the board with additional scope and closeout items as the schools complete final SFD adequacy checks.
