The Eastern New Mexico News - Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Staff report

Those driving on Mitchell Street between 14th Street and Purdue Avenue may have noticed a large construction project next to the south bound lane in the past three months.

The project is the construction of a new school to replace James Bickley Elementary, according to John King, director of operations for Clovis Municipal Schools.link Staff photo: Joshua Lucero

Workers at the James Bickley Elementary construction site drill a geothermal well for the school’s heating and cooling system Monday afternoon. The geothermal system uses the earth as a heat source in the winter and a place to dump excess heat during summer.

The project began in March, and as of Monday, has 80 percent of the footing poured and 75 percent of the geothermal wells complete.

“You’ll be seeing floor slabs starting next week,” King said.

The school, which is being built by Bradbury Stamm Construction, is slated for completion in March 2015 and is designed for students in grades K-5.

The 50,000-square-foot facility will incorporate LED lighting and a geothermal heating and cooling system to reduce energy costs. The school will also make use of easy-to-maintain polished concrete floors and concrete walls in its corridors like those found in W.D. Gattis Middle School and Lockwood Elementary, King said.

According to King, the $18.1 million project receives 20 percent of its funding from a $20 million general obligation bond passed in May 2013 while the other 80 percent comes from the State of New Mexico’s Public School Capital Outlay Council.

Money from the general obligation bond is also being used to renovate the science labs at Yucca Middle School, Marshall Middle School and the Clovis High School Freshman Academy, he said.

The old James Bickley Elementary building is set to be demolished in the summer of 2015.