Design work has begun on a new Purl Elementary campus, renovations at Tippit Middle School and the district’s fourth middle school with funds from the $160.6 million Georgetown ISD bond election approved by voters Nov. 3.

The bond will fund school improvements, infrastructure projects and plans for future growth, all of which GISD officials and the bond’s citizens advisory committee members deemed as immediate needs. The district allocated money to 12 projects altogether.

“This is exciting work for us,” GISD Superintendent Fred Brent said. “The community has entrusted us with this big decision, and we want to make sure we deliver what we say we will deliver and beyond that.”

Brent said right now the district is focusing on Middle School No. 4, Purl and Tippit. The first two projects have to be ready for students by fall 2017, and renovations for Tippit will be complete in 2018.

“A lot of this work overlaps, but we’re pretty much on the urgent side of Purl and Tippit and Middle School No. 4.” he said. “Once we get those off the ground, we’ll be able to get back to the other [projects].”

Middle School No. 4

The district’s fourth middle school will be built next to Mitchell Elementary School. Funds for the new campus were initially included in the 2010 bond, which allocated $28 million for the design and planning of the building. However, the campus was put on hold to complete other projects, said Suzanne Marchman, executive director of community engagement and communications for the district, so GISD allocated $27 million out of the 2015 funds for its construction.

The district issued a request for proposals for construction bids on the campus in December. Brent said he expects to receive proposals in mid-January and hopes construction will start in February or March.

Purl Elementary School

[polldaddy poll=9272669]The district allocated $31.4 million to construct a new building for Purl that will be built adjacent to the current building. A team met Nov. 10 to start the process of an initial design for Purl, and Executive Director of Support Services David Biesheuvel said he expects to break ground on the project this summer.

The new campus will serve pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students zoned for the current Purl campus and absorb students from Williams Elementary School.

The district previously split some of its elementary schools between pre-K through second grade and third through fifth grade, and Purl was the last school to switch back to the pre-K through fifth-grade model in fall 2015.

Students would attend the current campuses until the new Purl is built, then both elementary campuses would transition to the new building, Marchman said.

Tippit Middle School

The opening of the fourth middle school will serve to relieve other schools, such as Tippit, which currently enrolls 844 students and is over capacity by 36 students. Benold Middle School is also struggling with capacity, Brent said.

The school currently enrolls 869 students, which is approaching the maximum number of 950.

The district allocated $26.1 million for additions and renovations and to enclose all exterior entrances to Tippit. The middle school has multiple points of entry, such as those for the cafeteria and the main building, so the campus needs improvements for safety and security issues, Marchman said.

The district started the design work in November and hopes to break ground on construction in the summer, Biesheuvel said. Construction crews will have to work around the existing building and demolish portions to build new additions, as well as renovate the interior of some of the existing classrooms, he said.

“Because it is a major renovation project, and we’re going to do that with students still in the school, it’s going to take a little bit longer to work around them and phase it all in,” he said. “So it’s a lot more involved project because of all that phasing.”

Other projects

The district plans to allocate $14.8 million to convert Williams into an administration and professional development center. With district staff in offices throughout town in various buildings, the renovated Williams building would allow all district-level staff to be in one spot and make room for a professional learning space for teachers, Marchman said.

But because of the consolidation of the Purl and Williams campuses, the district will have to hold off to start renovations on Williams until the new Purl campus is complete, Biesheuvel said.

“Because of the dominoes that need to fall first, the renovation for Williams Elementary for our new administration and professional learning center won’t happen for a few years,” he said. “It’s just a phasing issue, it’s not that it is lower priority; we just have to get Purl done first. “

Because Purl, Tippit and Middle School No. 4 have upcoming deadlines, Brent said the district will also hold off on some of the other bond projects until the first three are under way.

However, some other projects have been started—Brent said the district also began internal meetings to discuss renovations to Georgetown High School, which will cost $23.4 million.

The work will include renovations to the north and south wing classrooms and science labs, as well as the fine arts, band hall, career and technology and athletic support facilities.

Biesheuvel said the district is also aiming to replace the turf at the athletic complex in the summer before the next football season starts.

Biesheuvel said the district allocated $2 million to purchase a total of 21 buses throughout three years, and seven have already been purchased. The vehicles take about six months to arrive, so he said he does not expect to see the new buses until about the end of the school year.

The district is also identifying roofing projects and which campus parking lots to pave, which would be worked on during the summer, Biesheuvel said. Early stages of work have started for replacing heating, ventilation and air conditioning units in various campuses and building security vestibules for Village, Ford, Cooper and Pickett elementaries.

“We’re working multiple fronts,” he said. “We’re working to do the highest priorities, and some of [the projects] that are important, like the security vestibules, we want to get those done as well.”

Other projects include $12.7 million in technology upgrades, $16.9 million in district-wide improvements and $4.8 million for land acquisition.