Plumbing 
Sofi Zeman|Leader-News
John Marshall, chief revenue officer for Satterfield and Pontikes, tells media that the company is honored to have been tasked with building the new school, scheduled for 2025 completion.
Construction workers will likely begin pouring a concrete foundation for Uvalde’s new elementary school in the weeks ahead, project leaders said during a March 26 news conference.
News media and donors gathered near the corner of Fourth and Leona Streets for a construction update and the presentation of a $1 million check that will help build the school to replace Robb Elementary. The $63.7 million school is scheduled for September 2025 completion.
The Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation announced that it received two donations – one in the amount of $1 million from John L. Nau III and Silver Eagle Beverages and a $6,000 donation from the America Land Title Association Good Deeds Foundation – last week. Representatives from Silver Eagle Beverages attended the check presentation and site tour.
As it stands, preliminary work on the site has largely included dirt moving and preparing construction pads for concrete laying. Blue fencing now surrounds the site, located adjacent to Dalton Elementary on the city’s northeast side, and workers are using heavy machinery.
Tim Miller, director of the foundation tasked with building the new school, said Houston-based contractor Satterfield and Pontikes has kept the project on track and within budget. As of March 26, the foundation had 68 percent of the funds needed to bring the project to completion and still needed about $20 million.
Miller said the foundation is seeking generous donors and federal funding to pay off the project in full.
Uvalde initially expected construction to begin in November following a widely-attended ground breaking ceremony held at the site in late October. The project was delayed for nearly four months due to bid estimates through Joeris General Contractors coming back more expensive than the foundation expected.
The Moving Forward Foundation went out for a second round of bids and instead signed a $51 million agreement with Satterfield and Pontikes in January. The group began laying down fencing and transporting project materials to the site in February.
John Marshall, chief revenue officer for Satterfield and Pontikes, said he and the company are honored to be tasked with building the school.
“It can’t not warm your heart when you see people want to support something like that,” he said. “A public school is the center of a community. There’s no doubt about that. And to see the community support come out for this, which is a special project, it’s really gratifying.”
Marshall added the company is grateful for the faith Uvalde has placed in it.
Katie Reynolds, director of corporate affairs for San Antonio-based Silver Eagle Beverages, said the company’s donation is dedicated not only to the children who will attend the new elementary school, but also their own employees who live and work in the community.
“It’s overwhelming to be part of this project in an amazing way,” she said. She added that she hopes the donation will help contribute to community healing and spur other donors to open their pockets.
Robb Elementary, which has remained closed to staff and students since the May 24, 2022, shooting, remains closed. The school district plans to demolish the site when it is no longer tied up as an evidence item in ongoing investigations related to the shooting.
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District formed a committee assigned with naming the new school. That committee will likely continue meeting throughout the spring, school leaders said in past school board meetings.
Sofi Zeman (szeman@ulnnow.com, 830-278-3335) is a Report for America corps member who writes about education and crime for the Leader-News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep Sofi writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting tinyurl.com/995h5cka
