Balfour Beatty JV Celebrates Opening of Cesar Chavez Elementary School

October 7, 2025

SACRAMENTO, C.A. - Balfour Beatty, in joint venture with Clark/Sullivan, celebrates the completion and grand opening of the new Cesar Chavez Elementary School for Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD). The newly constructed campus replaces both Edward Kemble Elementary and Cesar Chavez Intermediate School, uniting them into a single, modern learning environment. As the district's largest campus to date, the school serves as a vibrant new home for 850 TK-6 students.

Balfour Beatty, Clark/Sullivan, along with Kitchell and Lionakis, delivered comprehensive campus improvements at Cesar Chavez Elementary including:

• Two-story classroom buildings with flexible, future-ready learning spaces
  A STEAM lab
• A dedicated Wellness Suite and Family Resource Room
• Creative zones for art, science, music and after-school enrichment A U14 soccer field
• A strong emphasis on energy efficiency and environmental conservation
• Bright colors, bold architecture and inspiring educational murals throughout
  

The new facility addresses a longstanding infrastructure challenge for SCUSD. Edward Kemble Elementary, originally built in 1963 as a traditional K-6 school, served the community for 62 years. When enrollment surged in 2001, the district constructed Cesar Chavez Intermediate on adjacent property as an all-portable classroom site with limited outdoor amenities such as play structures or open field access. These improvements were prioritized based on SCUSD's award-winning Facilities Master Plan Equity Index, which identifies campuses with high segregation and poverty indicators.

Throughout the construction process, our project team partnered closely with the student-led "Eagle News Broadcasters" to keep the school community informed. Their regular broadcasts provided updates on construction milestones and safety protocols, fostering transparency and excitement among students, faculty, staff and families.

"The Eagle News team made this whole project special-these kids were so engaged and asked great questions about what we were building for them and their school community," stated Bill Machado, Balfour Beatty general superintendent in Sacramento. "We made it a priority to be a part of their news segments and provide regular updates to students, families and staff throughout construction. Working with the school and supporting their student-led broadcasts became one of the most rewarding parts of bringing this campus to life."

To view the Eagle News student broadcasts, visit the César E. Chávez Intermediate School YouTube channel.

"The completion of Cesar Chavez Elementary represents our approach to building meaningful partnerships with the clients and communities we serve," said Kyle Frandsen, Balfour Beatty vice president in Sacramento. "The relationship we developed with SCUSD during construction is a prime example of how our teammates prioritize engagement and collaboration with every project we deliver. Balfour Beatty is proud to turn over this new facility to the district and look forward to seeing how Cesar Chavez Elementary School's transformation elevates the learning experience for so many individuals."

"Delivering a campus of this scale required true collaboration across all partners," said Ted Foor, Clark/Sullivan president of California operations states. We are proud of how the entire team worked hand-in-hand with SCUSD to meet the district's vision and bring this state-of-the-art campus to life. It's rewarding to know that this new facility will have a lasting, positive impact on the community."

SCUSD hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony in August, marking the culmination of two years of construction and community anticipation for three new school campuses, including Cesar Chavez Elementary School. The event welcomed over a thousand attendees, including district leaders, families, faculty and students, for a festive celebration featuring food trucks, DJ, bubble machines, complimentary haircuts and a back-to-school drive. Guests also enjoyed photobooths and a scavenger hunt throughout the new campus.