Tuscany Hills Elementary's $7 Million Expansion Complete

Tuscany Hills Elementary School’s $7 million expansion has wrapped up, and last week the Lake Elsinore Unified School District celebrated with a dedication ceremony.

The expansion includes a new 10-classroom building, a multi-purpose learning space, shaded outdoor dining facilities, new play courts, and updated field areas.

The expansion was spearheaded by project contractor Escondido, Calif.,-based Echo Pacific. Architecture For Education, based in Pasadena, was retained for the project design that was developed over a two-year period with participation from community stakeholders, teachers, district leadership and board members, according to district officials.

Once ground was broken, the project took a little over a year to complete.

A combination of undeveloped land adjacent to the school and on-site demolition of two portables and an existing play area and lunch court were utilized to accommodate the site reconfiguration and expansion within 4 acres of available district-owned land.

When a school becomes full, or impacted, students must be diverted to overflow schools, which expansion projects can help mitigate. Tuscany Hills Elementary first opened in 1993 with an enrollment of 529 students; in the 2010-11 school year, enrollment was 684.

By using separate funding available in the district’s school facilities account, the district reported that the $7 million expansion project did not adversely impact local taxpayers or classroom budgets in any way.

Tuscany Hills Elementary is ’s, based on academic performance scores, or API.