Jun 18, 2024
Lots of information, lots of action taken in June update to Trustees
June’s bond update to the school board was a busy one with a lot of information and several action items to be completed.
The CTE Center Advisory Committee met most recently on May 30 and after having reviewed a number of different design possibilities ultimately settled on a recommendation of a plan that would cover approximately half of the 37-acre site with career and technical programs of study on the ground floor, and the second floor being primarily for general education classes for the 400 high school students attending the campus full-time. In May, ECISD officially took ownership of the property where the CTE Center will be located and a “Future Site of New CTE Center” sign is now visible on E. Murphy Street near the intersection with Meadow.
The design of the new middle school is also progressing quickly. PBK architects presented several design options to the middle school committee and to school district departments like School Nutrition and Fine Arts. At the school board’s workshop on June 11, Trustees weighed in on the design, offering more feedback. “Future Site of New Middle School” signs are up on S. Tripp Avenue designating the land now owned by ECISD where the school will sit.
Trustees learned a second project is now complete – more than 840 interactive flat panels have been installed in classrooms across 38 campuses replacing traditional mounted projectors and touch screens.
ECISD’s Operations Department met with Gordian on June 10 to review job order contracting in preparation to begin Priority 1 & 2 projects.
The first meeting between DLR architects and a local planning committee took place on June 12 to begin work on the new Transition Learning Center.
An overview of bond financials showed about 1% of bond proceeds have been spent (approximately $4.4 million), with about 5% having now been designated for specific work (about $22.6 million).
The second round of bond sales occurred on June 5 with high investor interest. Nearly $216 million in orders were placed for the $99.5 million of variable rate bonds to be sold. All were successfully sold with an initial interest rate of 3.62%, about .12% above the estimated rate presented to the board in the preliminary finance plan in March.
Looking ahead, ECISD Fine Arts will be ordering instruments for mariachi, elementary and middle school bands. To date, Fine Arts has ordered 286 instruments to benefit all high school and middle school band and orchestra programs plus the harp program and middles school choirs.
ECISD Athletics is planning for the installation of lights at Odessa High and Permian High.
Finally, a series of eight Requests for Proposals will go out next week for projects such as roofing, plumbing, weatherproofing and more.
Trustees voted 7-0 to approve purchases over $50,000 related to the bond. The single item on this list is $4,891,322 to CDW-G for the refresh of surveillance cameras on campuses and in other district facilities.
Trustees voted 7-0 to approve an Architect-Owner contract with Parkhill for the new Agriculture Farm.
In a series of action items:
· Trustees voted 7-0 to approve a Constructor Manager at Risk contract and General Conditions contract with Teinert for construction of the new middle school. Construction Manager (CM) oversees project from start to finish, works on behalf of the district and holds contracts with the subcontractors, architect/engineer holds separate contract with district; CM provides a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) to the district before the design phase is complete. GMP is an estimate of project construction cost; if a project exceeds the GMP, the CM will be financially responsible, thereby putting the CM “at risk”.
· Trustees voted 7-0 to approve a Constructor Manager at Risk contract and General Conditions contract with Teinert for construction of the new CTE high school.
· Trustees voted 7-0 to approve a Constructor Manager at Risk contract and General Conditions contract with Teinert for renovation of the Permian High School auditorium.
· Trustees voted 5-2 to approve a Master Agreement for Program Management Services for bond program construction projects with Gallagher Construction Company, LP.