Chamisa Elementary construction shifts to paving stage in White Rock

Crews were removing large rocks and dirt at Chamisa Elementary School on Meadow Lane in White Rock as the campus moved into paving work, the next visible step in a project that has already taken down the old school and completed the new building. The work is happening at 301 Meadow Lane, where Los Alamos Public Schools says the remaining site package will finish the campus around the new school building.

District officials say the construction phase now centers on sidewalks, parking lots, driveways, fencing and gates, playgrounds, grass fields and landscaping. That puts the focus squarely on how families will reach the school, where cars will load and unload, and how the grounds will function once crews finish the hard surfaces and access points. LAPS says site work is scheduled to be completed by fall 2026, giving White Rock parents and nearby residents a timeline for when the campus should settle into its final layout.

The June 29 scene showed how far the project had progressed since earlier rounds of visible work. In March, crews were installing light posts on Meadow Lane and pouring curbs and sidewalks. In April, sidewalk work continued while trucks hauled dirt across the site. Last June, the new building had already received its final coat of paint, while workers removed portables, dug up the old parking lot and took out playground equipment from the former primary area. Together, those milestones show a campus moving from demolition and grading toward a finished school site.

Chamisa’s rebuild has been years in the making. Los Alamos Public Schools broke ground on the new elementary school on Feb. 29, 2024, saying then that the building was expected by August 2025. The project grew out of a $20 million bond approved by voters on Nov. 5, 2019, for replacing Chamisa and Piñon elementary schools, which were originally built in 1968 and 1964. The old White Rock schools were built for a different era, and the current work is aimed at bringing the campus up to a new standard for circulation, safety and play space.

Jaynes Corporation has described the new Chamisa building as 53,225 square feet, with separate playgrounds for Pre-K and kindergarten and for grades 1 through 5, along with basketball courts, a turf athletic field and an outdoor learning area. Those features help explain why the paving phase matters now: the campus is being shaped not just around a schoolhouse, but around the routes, fields and gathering spaces that will serve students and the surrounding neighborhood.

The district lists Craig Washnok as principal and Elizabeth Meek as assistant principal at Chamisa, and Robert Hollman serves as the construction contact. Los Alamos County Council also voted 7-0 to support up to $7.5 million for shared recreation spaces at the White Rock elementary schools, underscoring how closely the project is tied to daily use beyond the classroom.