Yuma Proving Ground breaks ground on new $10 million school campus

A new $10,037,794 elementary school campus is rising at Yuma Proving Ground, replacing James D. Price Elementary School with a modern building designed for 125 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The project marks a long-awaited upgrade for the Howard Cantonment Area campus, where the current school opened in 1953 and has educated thousands of military children since the late 1950s.

Officials broke ground Tuesday, May 19, 2026, after years of planning and delays. The Department of Defense awarded Yuma Elementary School District One an $8,030,235 grant on Sept. 5, 2025, covering most of the project cost. The school was placed at No. 35 on the 2019 Deputy Secretary of Defense Public Schools on Military Installations Priority List, a ranking that reflected the condition and capacity problems now being addressed.

The existing building has no production kitchen or cafeteria, and reports from the base noted ceiling leaks, a loud rooftop air conditioner and storm damage from monsoon weather. The new campus is expected to include dedicated music and art classrooms, a larger auditorium, a science lab and an on-site kitchen for hot lunches. Officials also said the cafeteria will include an ice machine, a practical addition for Yuma’s extreme heat.

The school serves more than 125 military students at Yuma Proving Ground, about 25 miles outside Yuma, and it is a public school operated through Yuma School District One rather than a Department of Defense school. The school’s name honors Pfc. James D. Price, a Soldier killed in the line of duty at YPG in 1954, tying the rebuild to a long base history that stretches back generations.

Superintendent Dennis Ponder has said the age of the campus makes a new facility necessary, while Yuma Proving Ground Commander Col. John Nelson has pointed to the school’s vulnerability during monsoon season. Principal Alexandria Johnson, Board Vice President David Ibarra and Pilkington Construction President Clint Harrington were among the officials tied to the project as it moved from planning into construction.

Work is expected to begin after the groundbreaking and finish by May 2027. For families at the installation, the rebuild is more than a ceremonial milestone. It will shape where children learn, how teachers work and whether the base can offer a school that matches the needs of the community it serves.