Page 10 - Killip Yearbook Updated

ARIZONA
DAILY SUN
COVERS PROGRESS OF
KILLIP SCHOOL
Following a November work session, Flagstaff
Unified School District has selected Killip Elementary
School for replacement using funds from the 2018
bond measure.
Groundbreaking on the new $19 million school
that will be built adjacent to the existing school, is
projected to begin early next year, with completion
by fall 2022.
“Some of those kids who are kindergartners, first
graders, second graders, they’re going to finish out
their elementary career in a brand new Killip school,”
said FUSD Superintendent Mike Penca.
In a facility assessment conducted in early 2018,
the now-72-year-old school and Kinsey Elementary,
which was built 10 years later, were both
recommended for replacement; costs to repair the
two schools to last a few more years would have
totaled more than $9 million.
The bond measure allocated a total of $29.6 million
for replacement of one school and renovations to
Mount Elden Middle School, another of the district’s
oldest identified by the facility assessment for major
repairs. Physical updates to the middle school,
including a new 8,000-square-foot building, began
in July and are scheduled for completion as early as
this coming fall.
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Penca said the need to replace Killip became more
urgent with the flooding risk caused by the Museum
Fire this summer. The school’s 9.4-acre parcel will
also allow for replacement to occur on the same
property while school is in session.
When Killip was named for possible replacement,
the school formed a building committee that
determined some of the school’s needs, such as
general updates to spaces for physical education
and after-school activities (which are currently held
in the cafeteria), as well as improved utilities.
“With the change in technology, we don’t have the
capacity of electricity needed for the building,” said
Killip Principal Joe Gutierrez. “There are times when
we will plug in our computers and stuff and we start
throwing breakers, so we have to be careful.”
The building committee plans to visit newly built
schools in the Phoenix area for reference as the
planning process begins.
Although design of the new school is still to
be determined, Penca and Gutierrez agreed a
priority, pending community input, will be to
replicate existing roles and spaces, such as areas
for community gatherings and the school’s green
spaces and garden.
Story Courtesy of: Arizona Daily Sun