‘Reaching new heights’
Final beam placed at future Heizer Middle School
Andy Brosig/News-Sun
It’s not everyone who can say they watched their new office grow from the ground up.
Eligio Gonzalez, principal at the current Heizer Middle School on East Stanolind Road in Hobbs, can. He’s seen the progress on the 126,000 square foot, $90.5 million school building on the city’s south side daily.
“The plan is I’ll be here to open the new (Heizer Middle School) building,” Gonzalez said. “It’s been exciting because we’ve actually seen it from the ground up, from the first shovel to where we are now.”
Hobbs Municipal Schools is targeting a fall 2027 opening for both the new Heizer Middle School and Del Norte Middle School on the north side of Hobbs. And, so far, everything is running on schedule to meet that goal.
Getting to that point took a giant step forward at Heizer on Thursday, as students and staff were joined by district officials and representatives of the community at large to watch the final structural beam hoisted into the sky and secured in its position in the wall of what will become a practice gymnasium for the school. The ceremony mirrored one hosted Tuesday at the Del Norte construction site.
Gonzalez admitted he sneaks out to the fence separating the construction site from the current school building — which is still in use educating sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders and will be until the new school opens — and takes a peek at the ongoing work.
“It’s amazing, just watching this develop and sprout from the ground,” Gonzalez said. “It’s very amazing. All the students are excited, too.”
Well, most of them. This year’s eighth-graders know they will be in high school by the time the new school opens, so they’re not as excited by the project as their young school-mates, Gonzalez said. But this year’s sixth-grade class “will be in this building for sure as eighth-graders,” he said. “They’ll get to open the new building.
“But they’re all excited,” Gonzalez said. “They know what this means.”
“I want to say I’m amazed when you think about it, in June (last year) this was a practice field and where we’re standing was a bus lane,” Doug Young, assistant superintendent for operations for Hobbs Municipal Schools, said. “And in just a few months, this has been done for the students of the community of Hobbs. We’re very grateful to the community of Hobbs for supporting this endeavor.”
Gene Strickland, superintendent of Hobbs Municipal Schools, agreed: “Thank you for joining us today on this legacy moment for our community. We’re turning the page on Heizer’s future in a new facility that will be here for generations to come.”
Also in the audience Thursday were several alumni, some of the former students who’ve gone through Heizer Middle School in the more than 70 years since it opened. Strickland acknowledge them, pointing out to current students just what that legacy meant to them and to the Hobbs community.
“That’s an amazing testament to how much those individuals think of this amazing community called Heizer Middle School,” he said. “This community trusts you, we support you and we’re excited about each and every one of your futures. ”
Before being lifted into place, members of the community, builders and students got the chance to sign their names to the beam, memorializing everyone who had a hand — no matter how small — in making the new school a reality, he said. In addition to being a vital part of the superstructure that will support the building for years to come, it’s symbolic of what the best educators do — challenge students to reach new heights.
“We are replacing a Heizer building that stood for seven decades with a new Heizer Middle School designed and constructed to serve students for many decades to come,” Strickland said. “Today is a visible reminder that our community continues to invest in its children, in its future.”
