Facilities committee backs Economides bus-drive repair recommendation; district outlines multiple campus projects and five-year plan

The ECISD Facilities Committee recommended the next board meeting include approval of a low bid to repair the bus drive at Johnny Economides and heard updates on district-wide projects and a draft five-year facilities plan and hurricane procedures annex.

Economides drive RFP and motion: Robert Gomez, ECISD director of facilities, presented RFP 25-55 for reconstruction of the Economides bus drive and said Real United Builders was the low, responsive bidder at $61,631 against a project budget of $200,000. After discussion, a committee member moved and a second was recorded to place the item on the next board agenda for approval; the committee chair instructed staff to proceed with bringing the recommendation to the full board.

Facilities project updates: Gomez and staff reported multiple active and planned projects: - Harwell campus chillers ordered; shipments expected mid-July and plans to provide portable-chiller hookups to avoid summer outages. - Roofing replacement projects at several elementary/middle sites and the transportation shop were advertised for spring bidding with construction anticipated in summer months. - Multiuse, metal buildings (60x90, ~5,400 sq ft) are in schematic design for each high school; the four-site program budget shown was $22,000,000, with $2,000,000 identified from a pending settlement for initial funding. - Truman elementary gym: final city inspection pending; district expects occupancy after tomorrow's inspection. - Edinburg North canopy lighting: contractor completed connections and staff reported final walk-through anticipated soon; district purchased impact-resistant LED fixtures and reported material and contractor savings relative to budgeted allowances.

Hurricane procedures handbook and five-year plan: Committee members reviewed a draft hurricane procedures annex and requested edits before approval. Ms. Vela and other members asked staff to provide a copy of the stated district/city statement of understanding, to correct outdated campus contact lists and to change wording to reflect that Red Cross leads shelter registration and district staff only assist. On the five-year facilities plan, staff presented a draft inventory of needs across 44 campuses; trustees asked to prioritize top three campus needs per school for budgeting and to involve principals in the prioritization process.

Board direction and next steps: The committee instructed staff to: - Advance the Economides RFP recommendation to the full board for approval at the next meeting, and prepare contract award documents. - Finalize and correct the hurricane annex language and contact pages for board review. - Continue refining the five-year plan and produce a prioritized, phased list for 2025-26 budget consideration.

Why this matters: The committee moved near-term construction and repair items that affect student safety and operations (bus drives, chillers, roofs and gym spaces) while seeking to clarify emergency procedures and prioritize multi-year capital needs for a district with multiple aging roofs, HVAC vulnerabilities and stormwater challenges.