Texas District Awards Construction Contract for New Elementary School

The Friendswood Independent School District in Friendswood, Texas, is ready to begin construction on a new elementary school nearly two years after the original bond was approved. The district’s board of trustees selected Satterfield & Pontikes Construction as the project’s construction manager at its board workshop meeting on Monday, Feb. 28.

The facility will serve as a new home for the existing Cline Elementary School. The project comes with a $36-million budget to come from the $127-million bond approved by voters in November 2020.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for March 11, and the project is scheduled for completion in time to open to students for the 2023–24 academic year. The new school’s architect, PBK Architects, has been working to make sure that supply chain issues will not cause any delays in construction.

“It is a nonnegotiable that kids are coming in August,” said PBK Architects partner Melissa Turnbaugh.

The PBK Architects website reports that the new Cline Elementary School will serve students in grades PreK–5 and feature a centralized learning commons for both large group instruction and small reading and study nooks. Each grade level will have its own pod to provide collaboration and pull-out space for each grade. The campus will also include innovation hubs, maker spaces, art and music classrooms, a new cafeteria and new gymnasium.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Nashville Elementary School Receives LEED Gold Certification

    Goodlettsville Elementary School, part of Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, Tenn., recently achieved LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a news release. The 81,750-square-foot school opened in 2023 and was designed by Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC).

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.

  • Haws Corporation Marks 120th Anniversary

    Haws Corporation, which provides hydration and emergency safety solutions worldwide, recently announced that the company is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, according to a news release.

  • Houston-Area High School Receives Best Project Award from ENR

    Tomball West High School near Houston, Texas, recently received a K–12 Education Best Project Award in Engineering News-Record’s 2026 Texas & Southeast Best Projects Awards, according to a press release. The new facility was completed in May and opened its doors to students for the fall 2026 semester.