By Anton Riecher
A proposed cafeteria and gymnasium space for the elementary school has fallen victim to the cost cutting axe as the Devine school board struggle to keep district wide renovations within the voter approved $11.255 million price tag.
On a motion by trustee Carl Brown, seconded by Chris Davis, the board voted unanimously to approve the schematic plans for the project as presented with the combination cafeteria/gymnasium space eliminated.
“With regret,” said board president Nancy Pepper.
Originally, the district sought $32 million in a bond issue for the district improvements, district superintendent Todd Grandjean explained. When that proposed bond issue was rejected by voters, the board was faced with reevaluating the district’s needs, reducing the proposed renovations and improvements to a $11.255 million bond package that won voter approval.
Unfortunately, when the list of safety and security requirements salvaged from the $32 million bond project was submitted to the contractors the eventual cost was $5 million more than the reduced bond package would cover, he said.
“So we have to figure out what do we have to take away from our wish list to be able to get into the price tag that we’re able to afford,” Grandjean said.
The obvious choice for the cut was the $3.8 million cafeteria/gymnasium space, he said. Also on the chopping block were renovations on the upper floors of the high school building.
Losing the cafeteria/gymnasium means major changes to affecting safety and security at the elementary, Grandjean said. Plans call for moving the current administration building to the opposite side of the campus leaving a gap between the first grade wing and the Kinder wing.
“Now we have to figure out how to connect the Kinder wing to that section that’s the main hall,” Grandjean said.
Losing the gymnasium/cafeteria may be reconsidered in November once the new schematic designs are completed and costs reevaluated.
In other security matters discussed at the Monday night board meeting, Grandjean reported that in addition to state required intruder detection audits the Texas Education Agency will also conduct district vulnerability assessments.
“This is when TEA will come to our campus for approximately three to four days and go top to bottom over every single piece of the safety plan,” he said.
The assessment includes adjustments and recommendations to eliminate any deficiencies found in the plan.
Also under the heading of security, Grandjean reported on the completion of eight-foot-high fencing at the elementary and intermediate campuses. That fencing includes one-inch thick fabric covering effectively making the fence “unscaleable,” he said.
Grandjean announced that the district had been awarded $150,000 under the TEA’s Safety and Facilities Enhancement (SAFE) Cycle 2 program, intended to help schools that have already met required safety standards met other statutory school safety requirements and allowable expenses.
The district was previously awarded $1.1 million under the first cycle of the SAFE program. Grandjean said he had hoped the district would match that amount under second cycle funding.
“We didn’t quite get there but this will still be valuable funds that we can use and not have to take money out of our operating budget,” he said.