Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Facilities Construction topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Waxahachie ISD reports progress on band hall, storm-shelter classrooms and Prop C upgrades
Summary
District facilities staff updated the board on ongoing construction at multiple campuses, saying the projects are blending with existing buildings, are about $700,000 under budget to date, and include a two‑story storm‑shelter/classroom, a reworked kitchen, a new band hall addition and replacement of 29 HVAC units installed over winter break.
Mr. Mott, a district staff member, gave a detailed update on several active construction projects across Waxahachie ISD.
“We're running about 700,000 under budget on that project as of right now,” Mr. Mott said, referring to the renovation and addition work. He described a new band-hall addition that “blends in very well” with the existing building, and showed drone photos illustrating the addition and exterior work.
The project updates included:
- Band hall and additions: The district is adding a band hall and an administration suite; interior work includes plumbing and framing; steel for the cafeteria and other additions was arriving and steel erection was planned following necessary concrete curing. Mr. Mott said the band‑hall addition is designed to match the existing brick so it will not look markedly different from the street.
- Storm-shelter classrooms: One two‑story storm‑shelter structure will serve as classrooms rather than a gym. Mr. Mott showed photos of interior science rooms adjacent to the shelter and said the first-floor layout is visible in the drone images.
- Hancock Coleman building (Coleman Junior High): The district temporarily relocated child-nutrition serving to a hallway so crews could demo and reroute kitchen plumbing; food is cooked at Simpson and carted back to warmers at the campus. Steel for a front addition and an administration suite was being erected. Flooring work in athletic wings and the gym lobby has been completed; classroom flooring replacements are scheduled to begin after students move out in late May.
- Howard (elementary): Slab pours for added rooms and the cafeteria were scheduled, delayed only by cold temperatures. Mr. Mott said cardboard forming boxes were being stored on-site and would be placed and covered so work could proceed before colder weather arrived.
- Site work, permits and piers: Drawings were turned over to the quoting firm Pogue on Dec. 20; staff were revising the football locker-room design with coaches and an architect. The district submitted materials for a second grading-permit review and requested a limited grading permit for slab and site work while roadway approvals from TxDOT and the city were still pending. Mr. Mott noted site piers had been sprayed for termites and that existing foundations were structurally sound, though portions of the interior required leveling to account for a roughly 2‑foot grade difference.
- HVAC and Prop C work: Over the Christmas break crews removed and replaced 29 air‑conditioning units in one day, including units at the gym and locker-room areas. Mr. Mott said Prop C funds were being used for facility upgrades, including flooring replacements where possible to take advantage of current savings. He said additional Prop C projects for summer 2025 — bathroom remodels, ceiling tile replacement and similar work — would come before the board for approval so contractors and materials could be procured in time for summer work.
Mr. Mott characterized the schedule as tight for the upcoming summer but said the district was staging work to maximize progress during breaks and minimize classroom disruption. “We have not touched any of the classrooms because they're teaching,” he said; classroom flooring work will begin after students move out in late May.
Board members thanked Mr. Mott and district staff for work over the holidays and noted community support for projects.
