Treasure Hills Elementary has been under construction for the last four years, but the end of the 2021-2022 school year marked the completion of the campus renovation. In celebration, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in the school library in May.
“This truly is a celebration as we officially open our new and redesigned Treasure Hills Elementary,” Superintendent Dr. Alicia Noyola said. “What you see in this library is a representation of what the rest of this campus looks like. It is colorful. It is functional. It is the environment that we want for all of our children.”
Treasure Hills Elementary principal Roland Ingram opened the ceremony by describing why the renovation began in the first place.
“In the second year of my time here, it was discovered that there was a major structural issue with the roof of the original building that was built in 1979. After weighing the pros and cons of setting a new roof, our community, our school board, and our superintendent decided that it would be best for our students and stakeholders if we were to use this problem as an opportunity to do something special with Treasure Hills. So, we planned a rebuild of the portion that was structurally compromised.”
Three students – a school alumna representing the past, a fifth-grader representing the present, and a pre-K student representing the future, read poems during the ceremony.
“We have made it, and we are here to celebrate finally crossing that finish line,” Ingram said. “Who we are today, is the sum of everyone that has been here before –the past, the present, and who will be here in the future.”
The Pirate choir performed several times throughout the event. Board President Bobby Muniz complimented the talent of the students.
“I grew up here,” HCISD Board President Dr. Bobby Muniz said. “Some things haven’t changed. The culture hasn’t changed. Mr. Ingram has done an excellent job of keeping that tradition, the culture going, and it’s fantastic. We here at HCISD are not individuals, we are a team, and the extension of the building was because we had an amazing team. We started off with an amazing vision and when you have an amazing team with a vision, and you know what the right target is, you end up with amazing results like this.”
Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda shared a few words at the event.
“When I came to school here in the 80s, Treasure Hills was beautiful, but I hadn’t really been here since then,” Sepulveda said. “So, when I first came to THE, I thought it was amazing. Definitely, for me, it’s like coming full circle being here before you today. It’s amazing to see and to hear how things that we sometimes believe are challenges are really blessings. What happened at this school turned into something amazing.”
Before heading out to cut the ribbon at the front entrance of the school, Dr. Noyola closed off the ceremony with a message of appreciation.
“I want to recognize our board of trustees for their vision and dedication in ensuring that we continue to provide the very best facilities for our students,” Dr. Noyola said. “It’s been a long road to get here. As we reflect on the last four years, there is a big debt of gratitude that we owe to a lot of people who worked really hard to make sure that we got to this day. I want to recognize and thank everybody that has been part of this project.”
