Officials break ground for new Wilmer elementary school

WILMER – There are three public schools and one charter school in the Wilmer Hutchins school district right now.

On Tuesday, that number changed to add one more.

Officials from Wilmer and around Dallas, including Dallas Independent School Board Trustees and Dallas Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa, officially broke ground Tuesday on the new elementary school being built on E. Belt Line Road.

This is the first public school in Wilmer since the dissolution of Wilmer Hutchins ISD in 2006.

Wilmer Mayor Emanuel Wealthy-Williams said when completed, the school will accommodate 600 students, including 115 Pre-K in the Learning Center Building and Kindergarten, and the remainder in the first to fifth grades.

“Dr. Flores [Joe Flores, City of Wilmer’s Development Services Director] and I have begun the groundwork to lobby Dallas Independent School District to build us a middle school on the same site,” Wealthy-Williams said.

”I brought him to the city because he knows DISD, and he made sure to include all the infrastructure so the new middle school can be attached to the elementary school.

“He master-planned the entire 30 acres with a middle school as part of the master plan.”

The architect for the project was IDG Architects, the builder Ratcliff Constructors, and now the Mayor believes Flores can add to that equation with his knowledge.

“In school construction, Dr. Flores has already helped keep DISD from removing $2-million dollars in scope,” Wealthy-Williams said.

“In several meetings, he stood up to DISD, their architects and engineers and did not let them leave a big open ditch with only a chain link protecting our kids from drowning danger.

“He then convinced them to enclose the open ditch and build a soccer field on top of the ditch. The box culvert and soccer field are valued at over $2-million.”

Wealthy-Williams said the city has also spent significant money to review the project and tasked Flores with passing these costs on to DISD.

The elementary school is due to open August 2020.

Wilmer’s current population is about 4,000 people and currently Wilmer students attend Wilmer-Hutchins Elementary, Kennedy-Curry Middle School, Wilmer-Hutchins High School or the Golden Rules Schools Charter School.

“It is my goal to stop the busing and keep our kids here in Wilmer,” Wealthy-Williams concluded. “I am excited for what I call Wilmer Champion Elementary, the school of champions.”