EC trustees touring new middle school, debating projects
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

The El Campo school board will be touring the new middle school then talk about a whole passel of building projects when they meet Tuesday night.

First on the agenda for trustees is a 5:30 p.m. tour 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.

The board will get updates on that project and the new practice gym at the high school during its regular meeting later that evening.

The board will reconvene at 7 p.m. at its boardroom to look at bid specifications for its additions and renovations to the high school's science building.

In August, the board asked its architects to go forward with plans for the renovation.

Last month, Malcolm Gaus of RWS Architects presented a design for the renovations, and the board is expected to be ready Tuesday to decide to issue a request for proposals for the project, estimated to cost $4.275 million, and to approve a bid in December.

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

The board will also see the design for installing artificial turf and replacing the track at Ricebird Stadium Tuesday.

Money was set aside in last year's budget to renovate the track at Ricebird Stadium, but bids came in much higher than expected, and led the board to realize that if it wanted to install artificial turf so all students could use the stadium, it might be more cost-effective to link the turf and track projects and solicit more bids. The estimated cost of the turf/track project is $1.49 million.

The track/turf project and science building reno- vations are part of $15 million in improvements the district has identified and prioritized in recent months.

The board Tuesday will also discuss a preliminary funding proposal for high school capital improvement projects, which also include moving the cafeteria to the old practice gym, converting the existing cafeteria to alternative workspace and renovations to the auditorium.

At the beginning of the 7 p.m. meeting, the board will hold a public hearing on a taxation matter related to 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. The fiscal impact on ECISD is unknown.

The El Campo Independent School District board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20 in the ECISD board room, 700 W. Norris. Meetings are open to the public.