Keller — At the March 7 board meeting, Keller trustees approved the hiring of an architectural firm to help the district conduct an assessment of all facilities more than five years old.
District officials plan to pay the SHW Group of Plano about $247,000 to assist in the study of 18 elementary schools, ten intermediate and middle schools and three high schools, along with several other facilities. The funding will come out of savings from the 2008 bond package.“We want to look at older buildings and evaluate them against current standards of security measures, how buildings are supporting instructional programs and square footage,” said Hudson Huff, director of planning and construction. “We want to make those as comparable as possible from campus to campus.”The Keller school district has more than five million square feet in 39 schools and six other facilities (including athletic facilities). Huff said the study will help officials prioritize renovations for possible future bond packages.In recent years, administrators have collected data on roofing, heating and air conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems. The scope of the SHW study would focus more on building function as it relates to instruction.SHW has a software program to track long-term facilities needs that district officials will be able to use for the current study and future planning.Terry Hoyle, principal in charge for SHW Group, said the study would allow the district to save money in the long run by planning upgrades and packaging projects to get better deals.Trustee Jim Stitt said, “We try to look at the budget down the road, and this will help us be far-sighted in our budget calculations.”Huff said the assessment, which would take four to five months, would examine facilities with respect to current accessibility standards, code compliance upgrades, instructional program support like availability of technology and security services.Administrators interviewed three architectural firms before making the recommendation to hire the SHW Group. The firm designed some additions to Keller High School and has designed schools in the Northwest district.Superintendent Randy Reid said the facilities assessment would help the district with the upkeep of aging buildings as the area approaches build out.“We’ve been in a period of rapid growth, and now we need to address renovations,” Reid said. “It’s helpful to plan it out and do it strategically.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
