Austin school district prioritizing safety, maintenance as 2022 bond projects get underway

The Austin school district is prioritizing security and maintenance upgrades to improve safety at some older campuses and replace aging infrastructure as it begins rolling out its $2.4 billion bond projects, according to a timeline it recently released.

The district last week announced its project timeline, with work beginning this year and expected to be completed in 2028. It has about 300 projects planned on all of its 116 campuses and a few other facilities.

The district has planned full, comprehensive upgrades at 14 campuses and completing part of a full upgrade at an additional 11 campuses, according to the district’s timeline.

Four other schools will get renovations to their open concept floor plans, a design popular in the 1960s and 1970s that featured fewer doors and walls. The design layout was meant to promote collaboration, but since then, officials have called it distracting and unsafe.

After completing the work planned in the 2022 bond, all district campuses will have modern secure vestibules, which keep visitors locked out of the main campus area until they check in with front office staff, said Michael Mann, district executive director for construction management.

“We can’t build them all at once, but we want to get them done as quickly as possible,” Mann said.

The district also will install fencing and new locks, among other improvements, such as athletic facility upgrades, he said.

“We have one of the biggest investments in athletics we’ve seen in a long time,” Mann said.

Much of the work that’s starting in summer includes technology improvements and security upgrades, Mann said.

The 2022 bond is the largest in the Austin district’s history, which voters approved in November.

Proposition A allocated $2.3 billion for facility upgrades, Proposition B will spend $75.5 million on technology improvements, and Proposition C set aside $47.4 million for stadium and athletic enhancements.

Construction at Travis Early College High School will take the longest, according to the timeline.

Other schools that should see extensive work begin this year include Cook, Oak Hill, Odom and Williams elementary schools, according to the district.

In the run-up to the 2022 vote, Austin officials estimated the bond projects would save the district $6 million annually.

The district should start seeing some of those savings two years from now when the first of the 2022 projects are completed, Mann said.

“The minute the doors open, that campus has lower energy bills,” Mann said.

Right now, aging mechanical infrastructure is costing the district money to maintain it, he said. In some cases, the district has to bring in rentals to stand in for failed equipment, he said.

“That’s the same money that pays our teachers,” Mann said.

The district hasn’t yet decided where it will house students who attend campuses that are undergoing major renovations, Mann said.

The district wants all students to stay on-site, whether in the old buildings or in portable buildings, he said.

“Best-case scenario, they can stay on site,” Mann said.

Some students might have to move off-site, but it’s too early to know, he said. During the rollout of the 2017 bond projects, students who needed to move off their campus during construction went to a nearby school or other district facilities, he said.

The district also plans to form groups for each campus to help guide construction and advise the district during major renovations, Mann said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: School safety, maintenance are priorities as AISD starts bond work