Canutillo ISD reports progress on $379 million 2024 bond; security upgrades prioritized

Canutillo ISD staff and their contractors updated the Board of Trustees on progress in the district’s 2024 bond program, reporting that the $379,000,000 program is moving from design into the procurement and early construction phases, with districtwide safety-and-security work prioritized.

Ernest Ortiz, program director for the Presidio Group, told the trustees that “this is the largest per capita bond in the El Paso County history” and gave a quarter-to-date summary of design milestones, pending land acquisition and community outreach events.

Why it matters: The bond funds 10 major projects that span renovations and new construction across the district. Ortiz said 15.5% of program funds have been committed and that the district is “early in the execution phase” of a program that has an overall timeline of roughly four years (with many projects staged over five years).

Most immediately, Ortiz said construction activity is expected to ramp up in July and August, with some new-construction work beginning in September. He said the design phase for the program is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. Garcia, Damion (Damiano) and Childress elementary projects are already out to bid; guaranteed maximum price (GMP) amendments for Garcia and others are planned to come to the board for approval in July and September depending on the project.

Security and technology upgrades were emphasized across campus projects. Ortiz listed completed and in-progress items including Wi-Fi upgrades, camera installations at multiple campuses, and Webex phone-system upgrades for administrative areas with classroom rollouts planned. He said, “all these security upgrades will be completed by the next time I report to the board,” and noted the architects are designing vestibules at each campus.

Project budgets and scopes discussed included a roughly $16,000,000 budget for a high-school renovation project that includes roofing, PA and fire alarm systems, security cameras, access control, roofing repairs and athletic field lighting. Another elementary project figure presented was $9,500,000 for a campus that will receive vestibule and HVAC rooftop unit replacements, roofing repairs, and network-infrastructure upgrades; presenters said additional alternates (bus-route modifications, sprinkler systems, water heaters, asphalt reseal, shade structures, lab and library renovations) will be considered if savings permit.

Design presentations for two new middle-school sites and the Northwest Early College High School were presented by the design team. A presenter summarized site challenges (including a roughly 50-foot grade differential and existing easements) and described an atrium-centered two-story plan intended to create interior gathering space, “exposed ceilings” for flexibility and durable exterior materials such as local stone. The design team said they are in the second round of pricing with the CMAR partner and have retained a third-party cost estimator; one presenter said they are “on track towards designing to meet the overall construction budget set forth.”

Board members asked about site utilities, traffic-impact approvals and maintenance responsibilities for alternates such as duct cleaning, ceiling-tile replacement and carpet removal. Ortiz and staff said sewer and civil design for new sites are being handled by the architect and that traffic-impact analyses were submitted in April and are with the city for review. On maintenance questions, presenters said some alternates could be handled by the district maintenance department depending on the project and budget decisions.

Procurement strategy: presenters said the district is staggering bids so local subcontractor pools (noted as limited for some trades) are not oversaturated; they also explained that some technology items had been procured through a purchasing cooperative (vendor UBT) rather than an open bid, and staff agreed to provide the board with reporting on those expenditures and the cooperative process.

Next steps: Ortiz said the design-development pricing and GMP amendments for the northwest high school and selected elementary projects are scheduled to come to the board in September, with the two middle schools expected to come back in November for GMP amendments. The district will continue community engagement to prioritize alternates should savings be available.

The presentation included photos from community outreach events — a furniture fair and a scholarship golf tournament — and trustees and staff praised the presentation materials and community engagement tools.