As published by Aaron Nelsen in The Brownsville Herald (December 2, 2006)

The Los Fresnos school district acquired land for the construction of two school sites, including an elementary school and future high school.

The Los Fresnos Consolidated School District's eighth elementary school will be built on a 16-acre site in the Rancho Verde Subdivision located on FM 511.

Land for the ninth-grade campus, which will eventually become a second high school, was purchased on FM 803 south of Highway 100.

To meet an exploding student population, the district asked its residents to pass a $33 million bond issue for two new elementary schools and a ninth-grade campus. The bond issue overwhelmingly passed in May, and the district took advantage of state funding from the Instructional Facilities Allotment to cover 75 percent of the $33 million bond.

The board of trustees gave Superintendent Gonzalo Salazar approval to negotiate the acceptance of a land donation from Neil Simmons of El Valle Homes for the elementary school.

The architectural firm of Gomez-Mendez Saenz will work with the district on the design phase of the elementary school with construction to begin in April 2007, and completion of the project scheduled for May 2008. The school is expected to open for the 2008-2009 school year.

Salazar also negotiated the purchase of a 54-acre tract of land for the ninth-grade campus. The land was purchased for $13,500 per acre.

Gomez-Mendez Saenz will again work on the design phase of the campus with the district, and construction is expected to begin in May 2007 with completion of the first phase for May 2009. The campus is scheduled to be fully operational for the 2009-2010 school year.

The ninth-grade campus will house ninth-graders for a four-year period, and then phase two of the project will convert the campus into a second high school.