AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday afternoon, Del Valle ISD celebrated the opening of the new Hornsby-Dunlap Elementary School with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The new campus will open to students on the first day of the spring semester on Tuesday.
Monday’s ceremony featured student performances and remarks from district and elected officials.
“This building embodies what we believe about our students, that they deserve the best. When you go about the building you’ll see sensory walls and natural light, all that was done purposefully,” Superintendent Annette Tielle said. “The attention to detail was purposefully planned out so we could create the best learning environment.”
The new building is on the same site as the original 1960 building, which will be demolished in the spring.
The 103,000-square-foot building has a capacity of 800 students. Del Valle ISD worked with Pfluger Architects and American Constructors on the project.
Principal Janeigh Jones closed the ceremony by sharing her excitement to have students in the new classrooms on Jan. 3.
“I am so happy and proud that our students get to be in this building, learn in this building, and I hope they love it as much as we do,” she said.
The project was funded by a $284 million bond package that voters approved in November of 2019. That bond also included funding for the demolition and construction of a new Smith Elementary, which opened in August of last year, and Del Valle Middle School, which is expected to have a new campus by the 2023-24 school year.
Rebuilding the schools, three of the oldest in the district, was deemed more cost effective than maintenance and repairs as the buildings deteriorated.