Round Rock ISD’s board of trustees awarded $11 million to an architecture firm on April 21 to design a new comprehensive high school in the district. Trustees extended the offer to O’Connell Robertson, based on Barton Springs Road in downtown Austin, which previously partnered with RRISD to design Success High School on Gattis School Road in Round Rock. The new facility would be the district’s sixth comprehensive high school. The $11 million came from surplus funds for architectural and related costs from the 2008 bond. According to district officials 10 firms applied for the project and were reviewed by construction staff for technical ability; four semifinalists were interviewed. At the April 21 board meeting, Superintendent Steve Flores said construction of the high school would require a bond election. Trustee Diane Cox made the motion to approve the $11 million award, and it passed unanimously. Trustee Charles Chadwell said the district has not yet decided where the school would be located. At an April 5 community meeting at Brushy Creek Municipal Utility District on Great Oaks Drive, RRISD Chief Operating Officer Bob Cervi said the new high school would be located either on Pearson Ranch Road, next to the site of a new middle school and Elsa England Elementary School, or at a site near the intersection of Old Settlers Boulevard and A.W. Grimes Boulevard in Round Rock. Cervi said the district would first design the high school before setting a bond election, likely in 2017, to let voters decide whether to fund construction. Construction Department Director Tim Strucely said if funding for the high school were approved, it could open its doors in August 2019. According to a RRISD news release, planning for the new campus will begin this summer, and a steering committee consisting of staff, parents, students and community members will be formed during the 2016-17 school year to provide input on planning and design.