Spring ISD voters overwhelmingly approved the district’s $330 million bond referendum Nov. 8 with 72 percent of voters supporting the bond.

Now that the district has the public’s approval for its plans—which include construction, technology, safety and security expenses— SISD Chief Operating Officer Mark Miranda said the district will waste no time starting those projects.

Infrastructure improvements will be the first in place because other projects hinge on their completion, Miranda said.

A fiber optic cable system, technology infrastructure and a new phone system could be in place by the end of next year, he said.

The district also will begin obtaining and installing some of the items slated for improved campus security, like new fences, Miranda said.

Deferred maintenance projects, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning repairs as well as plumbing and electrical repairs will be tackled as individual projects throughout the year, Miranda said.

The brick-and-mortar buildings approved as part of the bond referendum—three ninth-grade buildings and two middle schools—will take longer because the architectural design phase required could take up to 12 months, Miranda said. The bid for architects for those projects should go out in the first quarter of 2017.

“The earliest you could see shovels in the ground would be in the first quarter of 2018,” Miranda said.

The new schools could come online in August 2019, he said.

The district will also procure 60 new school buses, which will be manufactured for the district.

The district’s goal is to introduce the new buses in the 2017-18 school year, but it will require the successful delivery of new school buses and the hiring of new drivers, Miranda said.

School bus driver recruitment is ongoing, and those interested in applying for the jobs can visit www.springisd.org.