UVALDE, TX (October 3, 2025) The Uvalde CISD Moving Foundation excitedly announces that it will host the ribbon cutting ceremony for Legacy Elementary School on Friday, October 10, 2025 at 10:00 am. Wrapping up a nearly 20-month construction timeline, the new school will educate third, fourth, and fifth graders in Uvalde CISD this fall.
“This three-year effort to design the school, raise the funds, and construct the school has been a highly collaborative effort between the Foundation, the school district, the Uvalde community, and our architectural and construction partners,” said Tim Miller, executive director of th Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation. “We appreciate the generosity of the hundreds of individuals, businesses, foundations, and other organizations that contributed the monetary and in-kind donations that have made Legacy Elementary School a reality.”
Legacy Elementary, located near Leona and Fourth streets adjacent to Dalton Elementary School, is a two-story campus totaling 116,000 square feet. The campus includes 36 classrooms and can serve up to 800 students.
The colors and designs included in the school are inspired by the cultural heritage and natural beauty of the Uvalde community. The interior of the campus includes tributes to the lives lost at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022 including a representation of a large oak tree with two large branches, representing the two teachers who lost their lives, and 19 smaller branches representing the children who were victims.
The design of the school came as the result of meticulous planning efforts by Huckabee Architects and the Foundation to work alongside the Uvalde community through the Uvalde CISD Community Advisory Committee and several community meetings seeking input on everyaspect of the design. Parents, teachers, and community members comprised the Community Advisory Committee.
The work with the Uvalde CISD Community Advisory Committee began in the fall of 2022. The plans developed through that process were approved by the Uvalde CISD Board of Trustees in April 2023. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in October 2023 and construction on the campus began in February 2024 by the Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Company.
The Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation was created in the wake of the tragedy at Robb Elementary School through lead gifts from the H-E-B Grocery Company and the Butt family totaling $10 million. Huckabee donated their architectural services, Joeris Construction donated their pre-construction services, and Satterfield & Pontikes discounted their services for the construction work. The State of Texas also contributed $15 million to the project.
Other major donors to the work of the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation include:
- H-E-B Tournament of Champions
- The Kate Marmion Charitable Trust
- The Meadows Foundation
- Methodist Healthcare Ministries
- The Moody Foundation
- John Nau & Silver Eagle Beverages
- Rainwater Charitable Foundation
The project was also financially supported by two rounds of community investment through New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs), a federal program designed to encourage private investment in underserved areas. An initial round of investment through NMTCs to the Legacy Elementary School project was made in December 2024 totaling a combined investment of $24.5 million made by JP Morgan Chase, Prestamos CDFI, a division of Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC), and Raza Development Fund. The second round of investment totaled $21 million from JP Morgan Chase, Empowerment Reinvestment Fund, National Community Investment Fund, and Nonprofit Finance Fund. The combined investments produced a net benefit of $7.8 million to the new school.
In total, the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation raised more than $60 million. Following the completion of all construction costs and costs related to furnishing the campus as well as moving all teachers and staff into the building, any excess funds will be utilized toward assisting Uvalde CISD.
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Note: The Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation is a separate entity from the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.
About the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation
The Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation serving the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District community. The nonprofit was created in the wake of the tragedy at Robb Elementary School, which took 21 innocent lives on May 24, 2022. Funding collected through the foundation will support the construction of a new elementary school campus in the Uvalde CISD, ensuring students and staff will not have to return to the site of the tragedy, and ultimately supporting the District’s ongoing needs as it moves forward. For more information about the foundation visit www.uvaldecisdmovingforward.org.