ECISD meeting will be full of updates, plans
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

El Campo school trustees will get a lot of updates on ongoing construction, plans for renovating a high school building and new legislation when they meet Tuesday evening.

On the agenda for the ECISD meeting is the usual monthly update on construction of the new El Campo Middle School on FM 2765, which is still expected to be completed by Jan. 23. However, builders hope to bring the completion date - delayed by rain - forward to early January or late December, if possible.

Trustees will hear about progress toward renovations to the high school's science building. In August, the board asked its architects to go forward with plans for the renovation.

During Tuesday's meeting, Malcolm Gaus of RWS Architects will present a design for the renovations for final input from trustees.

In November the board should be ready to decide to issue a request for proposals for the project, estimated to cost $3.86 million, and to approve a bid in December.

Ideally, students would move into a temporary building, construction would begin Feb. 1, and the project would be completed by Dec. 31.

Board members will also decide if they want to take any action on HB 621, which exempts "goods in transit" from property taxes.

If districts want, they can grant the exemption or decide to keep taxing the goods, which would require a public hearing before Jan. 1. The fiscal impact on ECISD is unknown, due to the complexity of the issue, and the board is not required to take any action on the matter.

The El Campo Independent School District board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16 in the ECISD board room, 700 W. Norris.