La Vega I.S.D. board approves easement, allows planned Early College High School to serve as storm shelter

La Vega Independent School District’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved an easement and authorized district staff to allow the planned Early College High School to serve as the storm shelter for a field house and locker-room expansion.

Board President Myron Ridge opened the special meeting at noon on Sept. 23. “Board President Mr. Myron Ridge established a quorum and brought the board meeting to order at 12:00 p.m.,” the meeting minutes state.

According to the minutes, the board considered a proposal to have the future Early College High School serve as the storm shelter for the field-house expansion in accordance with ICC 500, the International Code Council standard for storm shelters. The minutes say the board granted authority to Dr. Sharon M. Shields and Todd Gooden to make decisions regarding “all construction matters including, but not excluding ICC500, building permits, and inspections with the City of Bellmead moving forward.”

The motion to approve the easement agreement was made by Rev. Larry Carpenter and seconded by Brenda Rocha; the minutes record the vote as unanimous. The action authorizes district staff to coordinate code compliance and permitting with the City of Bellmead as the project advances.

The minutes do not specify project cost, construction schedule, or the timeline for when the Early College High School will be built; those details were recorded as not specified in the meeting record. The special called meeting did not include public participation, and no closed session was reported.