Cedar Hill ISD bond team reports schedule, portable plans and $282 million program oversight

Cedar Hill ISD bond program staff updated the board July 21 on the district’s multi-year construction program funded through the 2024 bond, describing project schedules, campus budgets and temporary classroom needs. Program advisors said the district is managing roughly $268.8 million of campus construction within a broader $282 million bond program that also includes buses and technology.

The presentation laid out the master budget and an aligned master schedule intended to keep designs, permitting and construction in sync, and it identified High Point Elementary as the “first school out of the box” whose work will set standards for subsequent elementary renovations. Bond managers said they track every contract and purchase in a program-management information system and reconcile that monthly with the business office.

Trustees focused questions on the district’s portable (temporary classroom) strategy. Bond staff said portable costs can be substantial — the presentation cited a planning figure of about $1.5 million for a 12-month portable deployment — and that some campuses may require long, phased portable deployment (Cedar Hill High School was presented as a 20-month continuous portable need). District staff said the program will try to reuse 10–11 existing portables the district owns where feasible and that the team has been looking for ways to reduce portable-related costs.

Waterford Oaks Elementary was highlighted as a campus where roofing and mechanical replacements will require vacating the building; staff said the scope makes on-campus swing space unsafe and that a district-managed swing-space solution (including use of the TLC enrollment center and, in some cases, bringing portables on site) was discussed in planning meetings held in January and February. Trustees asked for documentation of the decisions and the rationale used to select specific swing-space campuses and for a communication plan to notify families about on-campus moves, traffic and student drop-off changes.

Other items in construction and campus-wide work: playground installations (vendor: Lee Park and Play) that staff said would largely finish in August; security camera, public-address and bell/clock system replacements starting at High Point as the pilot; and an LACI Enrollment Center renovation that staff said will allow TLC to be used as swing space. Staff also described plans for furniture selection, including teacher and community review opportunities scheduled in August.

Trustees asked staff to return documented cost estimates for portable deployments, a clear explanation of why particular campuses were selected for off-site swing space, and a communications schedule for families before school starts. Bond staff said they will convene the facilities committee, the bond oversight committee and district leadership to provide written backup and to refine the swing-space plan. The board did not take a separate vote on bond program items at the meeting; the district later included routine bond budget reports in the consent agenda.