Bright windows and working AC: Woodbury Middle School debuts new campus

The new campus is a result of CCSD’s replacement school program where a school is demolished and rebuilt but CCSD will be pausing new schools construction for a year because of rising costs.

Four Clark County schools debuted new campuses last week for the first day of school—including C. W. Woodbury Middle School, which first opened in 1973. 

The theme for the 2025-26 school year, principal Buffy  Banks-Grove said, is “rebuilt, reimagined, and ready to rise to academic success,” highlighting how she hopes the new building will help inspire students. 

Woodbury Middle School welcomed over 800 students last week, but with the better use of space, it has a capacity for 1,200 students, Banks-Grove said. In the 2023-24 school year, Woodbury had a 42% chronic absenteeism rate.  

“Our goal is to get people back in CCSD. …We want our students back,” she said. 

The new building is two stories and features open multi-functional spaces, new equipment, new technology, and new books. But possibly the best part, Banks-Grove said, is the brand new heating and air conditioning system.

“[The kids] are gonna be more comfortable. Every week, we would either have a flood or the air’s out. It would either be too hot or too cold. There was no in between. So this is gonna mean a lot to them,” she said, adding that the new Wi-Fi connectivity is also a plus for safety and for lectures to run smoothly. “The Wi-Fi was absolutely outdated in the old building, but right now you can pull up your phone right now and be on the Wi-Fi. You used to have to leave the building to make a call.”

Teachers were also excited for the new school campus, Banks-Grove said, with some of them planning for months how they would set up their new rectangular classrooms. The old school had circular buildings, making classrooms “pie slice-shaped,” a faculty member said during the ribbon cutting. 

Woodbury Middle School originally opened in 1973. (Courtesy CCSD)

“They already had in their minds what they were putting up in their classrooms, but they are so excited to have exactly one thing: a window in their classroom,” Banks-Grove said. “I can tell you that’s one of the best features of the new school.”

Replacement schools take a pause

The new campus is a result of CCSD’s replacement school program. A “replacement school” refers to an existing school that is completely demolished and rebuilt with a new facility on the same site as part of the district’s Capital Improvement Program. 

There were 30 schools on the list to be replaced through the 2034-35 school year, all built when the Las Vegas valley was first developing, that showed signs of aging and a need for updated infrastructure, according to CCSD. About 10 schools have been rebuilt or renovated in the last couple of years. 

In April, the CCSD School Board unanimously voted to pause construction for both brand new schools and replacement campuses for a year because of rising construction costs—pausing about 10 projects that amounted to $718 million in construction contracts and $32 million in architectural design services. 

CCSD said project bids have increased by over 60% and material costs have also increased by 40%. But school officials remained adamant that if any of the paused schools had any maintenance issues, including with air conditioning, they would be addressed and wouldn’t be affected by the pause.