Navajo-Hopi Observer

TUBA CITY, Ariz. —Tuba City Unified School District’s newest K-5 Primary and Elementary digital school will be christened this month, according to Wayne Nez, Construction Manager for the Tuba City District.

The school has been in construction for the past 20 months and is almost complete.

This school is the first of its kind for any tribal reservation in Northern Arizona, and will use both passive and active solar power as well as the latest in fiber optic technology for its students and staff along the western Navajo reservation.

Several areas of technical wiring for cloud computing capability, hard wiring, furniture, electrical approval and landscaping were completed simultaneously.

“Both interior and exterior final finishes are undergoing final inspection from head to toe,” Nez said. “Based on these final inspections, the general contractor of CORE construction, architect and engineer are coordinating for the final contractual timeline of Dec. 21. We are working right now with Navajo’s FRONTIER phone company to establish working phone services, as well as meeting Navajo Nation Fire department codes. We are also working to establish our data networking systems and setting up all safety monitoring devices required by the Arizona State Fire Marshall and working with the TCUSD technology department to meet all the requirements of the new fiber optic cabling.”

The fiber optic cabling will provide ultra high-speed internet for the K-5 school.

Once the internet fiber optic installation is complete, construction can start for final programming of the energy management system.

“There are multiple construction activities happening all together,” Nez said. “We also must test and balance the HVAC system, get the security system on-line and set up all electrical components. But so far, we are on schedule and we’re pretty excited to get ready to christen this new digital school for the Tuba City and Moencopi areas.”

A public ribbon cutting and celebration will be scheduled for the grand opening of the school later this month. The school is the only one of its kind in Northern Arizona and the only digital school on either Hopi or Navajo area reservations.