The Ground was Hard Maxwell Schools Break Ground on New K-12 School Complex

By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media

Shop Teacher Mike Daniels said the dirt was hard as he was teased about getting a head start on the ground breaking ceremony that was held at 6th and Kiowa in Maxwell Thursday morning to celebrate the start of construction on the new K-12 School complex.

Before the ground was broke the crowd heard from speakers including Board President Mary Lou Kern, Michael Brandenburg Mayor of Maxwell and History Teacher, Larry Tillotson Deputy Director of Operations – PSFA, Juan Dorado of Dekker Design and Dennis Towne, President of Bradbury Stamm.

The official groundbreaking began with dignitaries and School Staff followed by each elementary class or group of classes then their teachers followed by the high school classes and teachers of which Shop Teacher Mike Daniels was a part of.

The 54,000 square foot complex will cost the state $46 million dollars. Maxwell passed a bond issue in 2023 with those funds going to the design phase of the project after which the state waived the school’s match for the project and will cover 100% of the cost of construction.

The new complex will include an elementary wing with a fenced in playground. There will be a separate wing for grades 7-12 with career technical education labs for woods, metal and food sciences. The center of the school will have a shared library, special education space and an art classroom. The cafeteria will occupy space near the front of the building with a stage, a gated central courtyard and a large gym with separate locker rooms for visitor and home teams.

On the grounds of the campus there will be a full size track with field events, outdoor basketball, volleyball and pickleball courts plus a green grassy area.

The old admin building, high school building and elementary buildings will be demolished once the new facility is occupied. The Village of Maxwell is in the process of purchasing the old gym/cafeteria building and the middle school auditorium building.

The Maxwell Schools are currently setting up two new teacherage modular houses just across the street from the new complex. Both of the new homes are three bedroom two bath structures and were completely funded by teacher housing grants from the state. Roble noted that the homes should be ready for occupation this summer.

It was noted that planning for this project started under Superintendent Kris Forrester but got sidelined during covid and was resurrected once things got back to a more normal state under the leadership of Superintendent Amy Robles and Board President Mary Lou Kern. The land for the complex has been acquired from the Peryatel Family. The Village of Maxwell has acquired funding to totally rebuild Kiowa Street all the way in from Highway 445.