GALVESTON — The island school district has wrapped up about $21 million worth of renovations and other work, including everything from asbestos abatement to wheelchair accessibility to remodeling the high school baseball field.
Last year’s hard-won bond issue totaling $69.45 million — the largest ever for the school district — made the improvements to the school possible.
Most of the work, which crews began over the summer, is complete, said Andy Seaver, director of facilities for the district.
Most of the bond projects aren’t visible to people driving by, Seaver said. But students will have more accessible and comfortable classrooms, he said.
Now, the district is preparing to begin a new wave of projects expected to greatly transform its campuses, including major renovation work at Austin Middle School that will have students at temporary campuses for about 18 months.
And in the next few months, schools will install improved technology, such as ceiling-mounted projectors in some classrooms and computers in many elementary classrooms.
Students at Parker, Rosenberg and San Jacinto elementary schools returned to campuses last month with upgraded heat and air conditioning systems as well as new kitchens. Parker Elementary’s cafeteria also has a new service line.
Other bond project work includes:
• Asbestos abatement at Parker, Rosenberg, San Jacinto and Scott elementary schools, Austin and Weis middle schools and Ball High School.
• Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades to the restrooms and state areas at Parker, Rosenberg, San Jacinto and Scott elementary schools, Weis Middle School and Ball High School.
• New mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) at Parker, Rosenberg and San Jacinto elementary schools and Weis Middle School.
• New electrical system in the old section of Ball High School.
• Remodeling of Tor baseball and softball fields and the district’s nearby transportation building.
Also, the school district is in the process of adding a new wing to Weis Middle School, which includes new science and technology classrooms, Seaver said.
And after years of taking classes in portable buildings, students in Bolivar will soon get a new school.
Contractors have begun work on Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School on the peninsula, which should be ready in the fall of 2005. The bond issue contained about $7 million for a kindergarten through eighth-grade campus in Bolivar.
Plans call for a 57,000-square-foot building built on concrete columns to raise it above any storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico only a few blocks a way. The design of the building could bring with it a price tag of $9.9 million. The district and contractors still are negotiating the price.
Meanwhile, Austin Middle School’s seventh- and eighth-graders for the next 18 months are attending classes at Galveston College’s Fort Crockett campus until their school undergoes a $12 million renovation.
Sixth-grade students who were scheduled to attend Austin either remained at their elementary school campus or were assigned to another elementary school because of space limitations.
