What happened
A ceremony marking the beginning of construction for the high school, to be located on the Austin Community College-Round Rock campus, was held eight years after the first ECHS students began their dual coursework on and near the college grounds.
Former ECHS student Lilli Xiang and Principal Elizabeth Wilson, as well as other district administrators and officials, gave remarks ahead of the ceremony detailing the road to getting a brick-and-mortar campus. For most of its existence, the high school has been housed in portables on the south side of the ACC campus.
How we got here
In September, RRISD trustees approved agreements with ACC, including a ground lease for 2.2 acres on campus, and the use of 2018 bond funds for the design and construction of a campus to house the high school.
The district will lease the property from ACC for 50 years, with a price tag of $6 million to be paid over a 20-year period at a 4% annual interest rate, RRISD's Chief Financial Officer Dennis Covington said.
Construction is expected to last for 16 months, officials said.
Trustees also voted Feb. 15 to set the maximum price of $949,502 for the first phase of the ECHS. This price includes project contingencies, allowances, bonds and insurance, per district documents.
The backstory
In 2018, voters who live in the district passed a $508.4 million bond, with $275.4 million designated for projects to address growth, including the new high school campus to hold 500 students. The district budgeted $15 million of this for the ECHS. However, officials said due to multiple factors, the new estimated cost to construct the campus has more than doubled to $33.93 million. District officials approved the additional funds, reallocated from the remainders of contingencies returned upon completion of other projects in the bond.
Some costs will be reduced by capitalizing on resources available through ACC, RRISD Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez said in September, such as utilizing existing parking lots and tapping into existing utility infrastructure.
What's next?
The first structure of the campus is expected to open in time for the 2025-26 school year.
