Books open at five new schools in the Valley

PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO ISD - The 150,000-sf Jaime Escalante Middle School at 6123 S. Cage Blvd. has opened to students in South Pharr. Escalanate was one of five new Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD campuses to open this week as part of the district’s effort to expand facilities after years of overcrowding.

The four new elementary schools and one middle school add a cumulative total of 487,000 sf of new building space at a cost of more than $62 million.

The district has opened an average two to three schools per year in recent years. This fall it will open six, including the five that started Monday and one in October.

The new schools include those that are brand-new, like Escalante, those that have been rebuilt, such as Farias Elementary School, which was constructed anew next to its existing location at 1100 W. Acacia St. in Alamo, and those that have moved from locations that will be discontinued.

Aida C. Escobar Elementary at 901 W. Kelly replaces Whitney Elementary at 1600 W. Kelly Ave., where the City of Pharr is in the process of officially acquiring the property from the school district.

Pharr city commissioners voted Monday to finalize hiring a demolition company to knock down several city buildings, including Whitney. The city has long planned to make the property part of a strip of development that includes Costco and a planned movie theater complex.

The city has already received a letter of intent from Main Event Entertainment expressing interest in the Whitney location.