It’s hard to believe that just a short time ago, voters went to the polls to let their voices be heard on Election Day. Of course, elected officials made up the bulk of the ballot. But it also included two propositions from the San Antonio Independent School District.
Those two propositions totaled $1.3 billion - $1.21 billion for school renovations, upgrades and overhauls, and $90 million for technology.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the propositions. Now what?
Much work went into preparing for the largest school district bond election in the city’s history, and there’s more work ahead. Part of the prep included workshops, campus tours and conversations among stakeholders. A Blue Ribbon Task Force, appointed by the SAISD Board of Trustees, evaluated the condition of the campuses and at an August 2020 board meeting, recommended that SAISD forge ahead with a bond.
The immediate future includes several tasks that will align the District with the necessary tools to run a successful bond program, while also maintaining its current Bond 2016 program which is in the ending phases of most of its 13 projects.
Chief Operations Officer Willie Burroughs said there is a lot of behind the scenes work that will take place over the next several weeks that includes, but is not limited to:
-Updating the SAISD Educational Specifications
-Issuing Request For Qualifications (RFQs) to identify various professionals to assist in the planning and design of each of the projects. It’s critical that proper planning occurs so that there is an efficient and effective delivery of each project. With the issuance of RFQs, staff will be responsible for evaluating each proposer’s statement of qualifications (SOQs) to ensure the best fit firm for each project based on a set of established criteria.
-Developing the master schedule that will determine the timing of projects
-Increasing staff to support the $1.3 billion program
Burroughs said that many tasks will overlap to get everything ready to launch, beginning with hiring firms and designing the buildings to completing the projects and opening newly renovated spaces to the community and students.
“SAISD staff has the primary responsibility and is accountable for the successful delivery of each project,” Burroughs said. “The design and construction are a collaborative process that involves a number of stakeholders to include campus personnel, central office, community, functional departments, design professionals, contractors, and more.”
When Bond 2016 passed, there was a slight lag in starting the process due to hiring all of the staff who would eventually carry out the $450 million program. That included the in-house project managers, executive leadership and others.
This time, with everyone in place, Burroughs sees a more efficient start. Despite all that, he’s got the purpose and spirit of the bonds in mind.
“I’m most excited about literally transforming the learning environments of the students of SAISD for generations,” he said. “We have the opportunity to make a difference in the communities where each of these campuses are located.”
With one big part finished - the new academic wing - Rogers Middle School is ushering in a brand new era. Workers are onto the next phase. Already, principal Julie May feels that the building itself stands tall in a community that needed and deserved a new school.
"We've had grandparents who had kids who went here, and their kids went here," May said. "They had a hard time grasping that this building would go away. There's a lot of history here. When they come back, they're in awe. They're happy for their kids in a new environment."
Rogers is being completed in phases. But the most drastic part of it all, erecting a new three-story academic building, is done. Students and teachers who are back in class are enjoying the new building.
The second part of the same building will be finished in about a year. When that's done, May can bring all of her teachers and students into one building. For now, 6th grade is housed in an older building just outside of the new one. 7th and 8th grades are on the second and third floor of the new building.
"I love it. Just to be in a new building with new furniture, technology, an HVAC system that works, it's an amazing thing," May said. "It gives you a good feeling when you walk in the building."
The kitchen and cafeteria are part of the original 1950's era building. It will receive an overhaul, but it was attached to the new part of the three-story building. May said although it's old, it will also receive a massive overhaul. Brand new appliances, paint, lighting, walls and furniture will be a part of the kitchen and cafeteria overhaul.
One major benefit to a school construction project is that it increases enrollment. May said she saw a nine percent jump in enrollment numbers. She attributes the spike to the new building in the community.
"We went up a lot," she said. "I think a lot of it had to do with families driving to the front of the new building and seeing where their kids were going to be going to school. Just the presence of the building made a huge difference."
May said she was a part of the project from the beginning. She gave input on things like the design and layout of the new building. Rogers Middle School will also be a part of Bond 2020, and May feels like a pro now.
"Bond 2020 will be a piece of cake," she said. "The hassle is worth the wait."