Austin ISD considers potential uses for Allan ES campus in 2013–14

"One of my chief concerns is going to be not doing anything that's going to take money out of the fund balance," trustee Robert Schneider said, adding he looks forward to the discussion about how use of the campus will tie in with the district's facility master plan.

AISD board President Vincent Torres suggested the district leave the site vacant during the next school year while it launches a community engagement process to determine what the public wants to see at the campus. By doing so, the district could reduce budgeted expenses by an estimated $3.5 million.

Focusing on attracting parents to the school with unique options, Trustee Lori Moya expressed interest in programs such as dual-language education. The district could convert the site into a districtwide K-8 or middle school with a dual-language focus, opening in school year 2015–16. Such use would have an estimated one-time cost of $6,457,500, including facilities costs, and funding would have to be identified for that option, according to AISD.

"Whatever it is we decide to do there, it has to be completely different from a traditional program. Otherwise I can't see how those families would choose to go there versus going back to their home schools," she said.

Other possibilities

The board is also considering renovating the site to house the new school for young men, which will be funded in part by the Moody Foundation. Doing so would eliminate the need to renovate the Alternative Learning Center for that program. It would cost $16.7 million to renovate the Allan campus, compared with an estimated $22 million for ALC. The board could also opt to use Allan to house ALC's programming.

A pre-K center would cost $1.4 million to launch, not including facilities costs, according to district estimates. The academic focus might include a dual-language program, and some of the site's space would be available for administrative offices.

Another option the board considered was opening a Career and Technical Education Center, which could serve as a hub for students from more than one vertical team, which is a high school and the schools that feed into it. Maintenance and operations costs are projected at $2.46 million for the first year, and the district would have to find funding.

Using the campus for systemwide testing and information services instead would result in an estimated cost avoidance of $119,000 in its first year of implementation, and an additional $619,000 per year thereafter.

To lease the school to an outside entity, the district estimated it would generate $240,000 in revenue for up to 30,000 square feet. Such a lease would leave the district with five weeks to prepare Allan for a different use in the 2014–15 school year. The board said it would decline any offer by IDEA to lease the Allan facility for the 2013–14 school year.