School Views: Projects made possible by you
I recently shared my love and appreciation for the amazing community that makes up Eagle County. This week I want to continue that message of appreciation and provide an update about the great work Eagle County School District is accomplishing with your support.
We have several projects underway throughout the valley, one of which is nearing completion. Miller Flats, an employee housing apartment complex in Edwards next to Battle Mountain High School, has seen 10 tenants move in. The rest of the units are targeting an April 1 move-in date. That project consists of a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units for a total of 37 units. We funded this project with certificates of participation, which didn’t raise property tax for local residents.
The 3rd Street Housing Project is our partnership with Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley. Of the 16 duplexes, 12 will be owned by Eagle County School District staff members and the remaining four will be owned by Eagle County residents. The school district provided the land, and Habitat is managing the construction project and vetted homeowners through their application process. This project is funded by the mortgages obtained by the new property owners, so it didn’t raise property taxes for local residents.
Another project we’re excited to begin is the Nutrition and Technology Services building to be constructed in Gypsum. Site work is set to begin on the district-owned land this month, with a goal of completion in January 2025. This project was funded from the same certificates of participation used for Miller Flats.
We are extremely appreciative of the voters of Eagle County who resoundingly supported a bond question from Eagle County School District in the November 2023 election. The funds from this bond will go toward numerous capital improvements up and down the valley. Thank you for believing in the work that we do and supporting our continued efforts to secure the necessary resources to support our staff and students.
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One of the priorities of the 2023 bond is to increase capacity in Early Childhood Education facilities. The Gypsum Early Learning Center will begin construction this July, with the goal of opening in October 2025 to provide a much-needed early childhood education option at the west end of our valley. It will be located across the street from Red Hill Elementary School.
Edwards Early Learning Center will be renovated on the second floor to create more preschool classrooms. Work on Edwards Early Learning Center will begin this August, with a target completion date of Jan. 30, 2025.
In addition to increasing early childhood education capacity, we will also build more affordable employee housing. First is our employee housing project in Gypsum, which will be adjacent to the previously mentioned Gypsum Early Learning Center. While a variety of factors will come into play as to the size and scope of this project, it will yield at least 20 units and probably more. This project is slated to begin this September and is expected to take one year to complete.
In April of 2025, we’ll begin improving infrastructure at Maloit Park in south Minturn and expect that work to take about six months to complete. Maloit Park, which currently has a few mobile homes that house district staff, will see those replaced along with additional units built to total 138 district-owned housing options. We continue to work toward the staffing needs identified in our Housing Master Plan. These are ongoing, as will be our efforts to attract and retain staff members by helping to provide affordable housing options.
Finally, I’d like to share a brief update regarding safety and security improvements in the district. We recently hired Tad Degen, a long-time law enforcement agent and school resource officer in our community, as our director of safety and security. While this position is not funded by the voter-approved bond, having a committed staff member to focus on safety was recently identified as a need in a security audit.
We’re glad to have this important role in Eagle County School District. One of Degen’s first responsibilities will be to visit every campus and district facility to determine what safety upgrades are necessary to help our staff and students feel secure. These improvements will be ongoing over the next two years and will be paid for by the community-supported bond. Thank you for promoting the safety of our students and staff members.
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We recognize that these projects would not be possible without the community’s support, so thank you again. We understand many of these construction projects take time and require patience as timelines change, but please know we will work hard to meet deadlines. We’re excited to see all of these improvements for our students, families, and staff members through to completion in the next couple of years. Thank you for joining us in this important work.
Philip Qualman is the superintendent of Eagle County School District. Email him at philip.qualman@eagleschools.net.
