A school in Santa Fe for the academically gifted may move into brand new quarters, depending upon the fate of a general obligation bond this fall.
Launched seven years ago, the Mandela International Magnet School is currently located inside the more than 50 year-old Larragoite Elementary School at 1604 Agua Fria Street.
School district officials have long wanted to build an entirely new facility for a growing program that attracts up to 275 students a year.
Although the one-story Larragoite building has been the subject of several upgrades in recent years, it is thought that it would be more economically viable to build an entirely new school, a project with an estimated $22.5 million price tag.
As planned, the new school would go up at the Agua Fria Street location.
The Mandela project will be one of several school facility construction and renovation efforts that will be funded by the proposed $100 million general obligation bond.
The Mandela school is based on the International Baccalaureate model, which offers accelerated learning programs with an emphasis on global learning.
The concept was launched six decades ago by the London-based United World College. South African President Nelson Mandela served in the mid-1990s as an honorary president of the college.
By Garry Boulard
