By james art Frenship Independent School District officially dedicated its newest elementary school this month as the district continues to grow.
Officials Wednesday cut the ribbon at Ridgewood Elementary School, 5506 Xenia Ave. in Lubbock. The new school is Frenship ISD’s 16th campus and ninth elementary school.
Construction began in November 2022, and the school opened to students this August.
The 112,000-square-foot campus has 63 classrooms, a full-size competition gym and other amenities similar to those at other elementary schools in the district, the district said. More than 500 students now call Ridgewood home.
more: Frenship ISD cuts the ribbon at Alcove Trails Middle School
Ridgewood is the second of three new schools approved by county voters in the 2020 bond election. Alcove Trails Middle School opened in 2023 and Frenship Memorial High School is expected to open in 2025.
The district said Ridgewood helps relieve overcrowding at other elementary schools in Friendship as the district’s population grows to nearly 12,000 students.
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More new Frenship campuses are expected if voters get through in November
Frenship ISD is considered one of the fastest-growing school districts in Texas, according to the district, and if voters pass a nearly $190 million bond package in November, two more elementary schools will be in the works.
“Based on demographic surveys and new housing development in the area, Frenship will need two additional elementary schools to accommodate future growth over the next several years,” FISD previously said in a statement.
more: Frenship ISD voters to consider property tax increase, $200 million in bonds
The bond will also fund renovations and security improvements to existing campuses.
Also on Frenship’s November ballot are a $10 million bond package to fund classroom technology and a voter-approved tax rate election, or VATRE, that the district says is needed to fund its budget.
If VATRE is passed, the district’s budget will be balanced and include a 5 percent average raise for teachers and staff. It comes as other districts in the Lubbock area adopt deficit budgets.
The county is proposing a tax rate of $1.1567 per $100 in property valuation, which is lower than last year’s tax rate but would result in a tax increase of about 11 percent for most property owners. That would generate about $5.3 million more in revenue for the district, the Avalanche-Journal previously reported.
This article originally appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Frenship celebrates new Ridgewood Elementary School in west Lubbock