Early childhood center

Key facts

• What it is: a new school for Pre-K students¹
• Budget: $64 million from 2023 bond money²
• Seats for students: 616¹
• Cost per seat: about $103,900 (our math)³
• Name: Ada Mae Faubion School for Early Childhood⁴

In short

The district built a new Pre-K school with 2023 bond money, and it opened in Aug. 2026. Its budget is $64 million.² It has 616 seats.¹ That is about $103,900 per seat, by our math.³

Why it matters to your tax bill: the building is paid by the debt tax; running it is paid by the operating tax.

Related: 2023 bond · new and relocated schools · school capacity · how bonds work

An early childhood center is a school for very young students. Here, that means Pre-K. The plan moved Pre-K out of five crowded elementary schools in the north part of the district.¹

Where the money came from

In 2023, voters approved a bond. The center opened on Aug. 12, 2026.⁵ A bond is a big loan the district pays back over many years. See Debt.

Part of that bond was set aside to “repurpose” buildings and land. In Oct. 2023, the board voted to use $60 million of that money for the center. It would go on district-owned land. The vote was 5–1, with one member absent.⁶

The 2023 bond list did not have a new early childhood center on it. It had three “repurpose” lines of $37 million each, to convert existing buildings.⁷ By Oct. 2025, one of those lines was $0 and another was about $13.7 million.⁸ Together that is about $60.3 million less, which is close to the center’s first $60 million (our math).⁸ The other repurpose lines had $0 spent as of Oct. 2025.⁸ The district’s reports do not say which of the promised conversions each remaining line now stands for.

In April 2025, the board added $4 million more from the same pot. The vote was 4–1, with two members absent.⁹ That brought the budget to $64 million.²

Who builds it

Big school jobs often use a “construction manager at risk.” Think of a general contractor who promises a top price. If the job costs more, the contractor takes the risk.

• Dec. 2023: the board picked American Constructors. It was one item on the consent list. The list passed 7–0.¹⁰ A district award record gives the number LISD 24026C28. It is active from Dec. 14, 2023 through June 30, 2028. That is an award row, not a copy of the signed contract.¹¹
• April 2025: the board set the first top price, $47,762,700. The vote was 5–0.⁹

Money reported before opening

As of Oct. 31, 2025, the district reported these figures. The last row is our subtraction.²

Item	Amount
Budget	$64,000,000
Spent	$13,071,865
Promised in contracts, not yet paid	$35,866,250
Left (our math, $64,000,000 − $13,071,865 − $35,866,250 = $15,061,885)	$15,061,885

Cost per seat

The building plan has room for 616 Pre-K students.¹ $64 million split over 616 seats is about $103,900 a seat. That is our math: $64,000,000 ÷ 616 = $103,896. It counts only the student seats. The building also has space for other uses, such as a child development center.¹

The name

In March 2026, the board voted 7–0 to name it the Ada Mae Faubion School for Early Childhood.⁴

The other side

• Early learning has strong research support, and the district says the center meets a real need for its youngest students.
• New buildings often cost more per seat than older ones because of today’s building prices.

What you can do or watch next

• The school has opened. Watch for the final cost and remaining contract payments in future district reports.
• See school capacity for how full nearby schools are.

Questions to ask

• What was the school’s final construction cost, including later price changes?
• Which parts of the budget remain unpaid or unspent?
• What does the completed building provide beyond student classrooms?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 5, 2026: We updated the school’s status to open, added the builder’s contract-award number and removed the landowner name.

What we still don’t know

• A final, current cost total has not been shown in a public board packet we found. The latest project total on this page is from Oct. 31, 2025, before the school opened.

See also the repurposing line that paid for it, School capacity and The next bond.

Numbers marked “our math” are our estimates, not official figures. The notes show the inputs and the steps.

Footnotes

1. Board packet, June 27, 2024, education specifications. Page 207: “Learning/Collaboration – capacity is ECC only,” 616. The same page lists a “Child Development Center” (58) and “Parents as Teachers” (32). Page 221: “By relocating Pre-K from 5 elementary schools in the northern portion of the district, those campus capacities can reduce the number of portables needed.” The center “should provide instructional capacity of 600 Pre-K students.” Packet page 207. Packet page 221. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

2. Board packet, Dec. 11, 2025, page 357, 2023 Bond status report as of Oct. 31, 2025. “Early Childhood Center”: budget $64,000,000; spent to date $13,071,865; encumbered $35,866,250; remaining $15,061,885. Packet page 357. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Our math: $64,000,000 ÷ 616 = $103,896. ↩ ↩²

4. Board minutes, March 12, 2026: “the Early Childhood Center be called the Ada Mae Faubion School for Early Childhood.” Approved 7–0. Minutes, BoardBook 3095652. ↩ ↩²

5. Saved record of the district’s early-childhood page, checked Oct. 28, 2026: the center opened Aug. 12, 2026. The page was not used to claim any final construction total. ↩

6. Board minutes, Oct. 26, 2023: “$60,000,000 of 2023 Bond repurposing funds be used to build an Early Childhood Center.” (The full quoted motion in the minutes names district-owned land; that property name is omitted here.) Approved 5–1, one absent. Minutes, BoardBook 3093866. ↩

7. Board packet, Feb. 16, 2023, 2023 bond project list, pages 76–82: three conversions of $37 million each for early childhood and professional-learning uses. Board packet. ↩

8. Board packet, Dec. 11, 2025, page 357, 2023 Bond status report as of Oct. 31, 2025: repurpose lines of $0, $13,662,319 and $36,662,319, and LEO/NHHS $45,247,798 (down from $50 million); none had money spent. Our math: ($37,000,000 − $0) + ($37,000,000 − $13,662,319) = $60,337,681. Packet page 357. Earlier labels: Board packet, page 124, meeting 631152. ↩ ↩² ↩³

9. Board minutes, April 10, 2025: “move $4,000,000 from the 2023 Bond Repurposing Projects fund to the Early Childhood Center Project,” approved 4–1, two absent. “Guaranteed Maximum Price No. 1 of $47,762,700,” approved 5–0. Minutes, BoardBook 3079998. Packet page 79: the top price “is for the start of the construction phase.” More may follow. ↩ ↩²

10. Board minutes, Dec. 14, 2023: consent item 7.E, “Construction Manager at Risk Selection for the Early Childhood Center.” The consent list passed 7–0. Minutes, BoardBook 3093933. ↩

11. District public records, contract-award export: active row for American Constructors LLC, LISD 24026C28, “CMAR Early Childhood Center,” Dec. 14, 2023–June 30, 2028. It is an award listing, not a signed-contract amount. ↩