Had the Marana district built its newest school to meet the state's minimum guidelines, it should have cost just under $7 million to construct Rattlesnake Ridge Elementary School.
Instead, the Marana Unified School District ended up spending $12.4 million, including more than $5 million in bond money, to build and furnish the school, which is west of Interstate 10 in the Continental Reserve area. The rest of the money came from the Arizona School Facilities Board.
Construction costs alone totaled more than $10 million.
"It is standard that our district would have to contribute additional dollars in order to open a school comparable to other schools in our district," said Tamara Crawley, Marana's public relations director.
Classes started Monday at Rattlesnake Ridge, which has 27 teachers and 620 students. It was built to relieve overcrowding at Twin Peaks and Coyote Trail elementary schools.
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The School Facilities Board projected it would cost about $6.8 million to construct the new school based on the board's standards.
To supplement the cost of the 58,000-square-foot K-6 school, the district used money from a 1999 bond election that was earmarked for new school construction.
The last school to be built in the school district — which was more than six years ago — had a price tag of about $5.5 million.
Because the School Facilities Board — the state-appointed panel charged with handing out money for school construction and maintenance — provides enough money to meet minimum school-facility guidelines, districts often incur costs beyond what is allocated to them.
"Usually, the local community is not happy with (the minimum standards). They want better," said Kerry Campbell, a spokeswoman for the state board.
On the East Side, Vail School District pitched in an extra $2.6 million on top of the $9.8 funded by the School Facilities Board to make sure Senita Valley Elementary School is on par with other district schools.
The 54,000-square-foot K-5 school will open next year on East Bilby Road east of South Houghton Road.
Upgrades to Rattlesnake Ridge, which has a capacity for 732 students, included adding more carpet, tile and cement to the school buildings, along with more walkways.
District officials said providing teachers, parents and students with the best schools possible can get expensive, but the district is willing to spend the money.
"Our community should want that," Marana Superintendent Dennis Dearden said. "It should be a showcase for our community."
Parents didn't seem to be bothered by the cost and requested at least one extra thing: automatic lights in the classrooms.
"I am just glad that they didn't do a lot of cutting," said Monica Sutton, parent and president of Rattlesnake Ridge's Parent Teacher Organization. "It seems like they were able to get the things we wanted."
The 30-member PTO has already begun fundraising for more additions to the school.
First up: The PTO hopes to raise about $35,000 to install canopies on the playground, said Sutton, whose two sons, 9-year-old Trevor and 11-year-old Ty, go to Rattlesnake Ridge.
"Shade is our priority," she said.
