The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved contracts for its future technical center and an elementary school, and announced that all schools would remain closed until at least Sept. 11 in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Contract approved for career center

Trustees approved a $44.8 million building contract with Bartlett Cocke General Contractors LLC for construction of the James Reese Career and Technical Education Center, a 183,000-square-foot facility to be located near the intersection of University Boulevard and Chatham Avenue in Sugar Land, according to an FBISD press release.

Funded by the district’s 2014 bond issue, the center will offer high school students instruction on subjects including construction, health science, cosmetology, culinary arts, audio and video communications and other subjects, according to meeting documents.

The center is scheduled to open to students in the 2019-20 school year, according to the press release.

Agreement for design of FBISD Elementary School 51 approved

The board of trustees approved an agreement with AUTOARCH Architects to design an elementary school in Aliana.

The new school will be designed to serve 850 students with room to grow if needed, according to meeting documents.

The school administration has yet to negotiate a contract of a specific dollar amount with the AUTOARCH, according to meeting documents. The district plans to complete construction July 1, 2019.

AUTOARCH will provide designs at a future board meeting, according to an FBISD press release.

Purchase of special education services approved

Board members authorized the district to purchase services relating to students’ instructional needs and assessments and special education, at a cost not to exceed $990,347 for school year 2017-18.

The money would pay for services such as speech services, sign language interpretation, independent education evaluations, language translation services, and licensed specialist and school psychology services, according to meeting documents.

The money would come from the school district’s general funds and federal funds, according to meeting documents.