Bond-funded facilities open for school

Aug. 23, 2016 – It was an exciting day yesterday as students got to see their new schools for the first time. The AISD opened two brand new elementary schools yesterday, funded by the 2014 Bond program, along with three renovated campuses.

Sandy McNutt Elementary and Eddy and Debbie Peach Elementary opened their doors to students for the first time. Getting the brand new schools ready proved to be a challenge, as greater than average rain earlier this year and the current demand on construction resources throughout Texas have caused delays in the construction schedule. But thanks to hard work from the contractor, the teachers, administrators and hundreds of volunteers who helped set up classrooms over the weekend, the first day of school was a success.

While the new buildings were ready enough to start school, they are not completely finished. Each elementary has a wing still under construction and a number of tasks remaining in the rest of the building, along with landscaping and the playground yet to be done. The wings still under construction are walled off from students and the other tasks will be completed when school is not in session, in the evenings or on weekends, or in cordoned-off areas. About six more weeks will be required to finish everything.

Yesterday was also the first time students at Workman Junior High, Jones Academy and Corey Academy got to see their renovated campuses. At Workman, a new 16-classroom addition opened, along with eight new classrooms in the existing building. Workman also got a new entrance and admin area, along with a newly-poured parking lot. For the next several weeks, the final construction tasks will be completed. [Read more about Workman.]

Corey and Jones received major renovations throughout their buildings to enhance their fine arts and dual language programming. Like McNutt and Peach, Corey is almost finished. Workers will wrap up their work there when school is not in session, in the evenings or on weekends, or in cordoned-off areas. Jones is on a different schedule, undergoing renovations in phases. The summer was phase one, and phase two and three will be completed during the school year. Areas under construction during the school year will be walled off and kept separate from the students and the rest of the building. [Read more about Jones’ renovations.]

While these bond-funded projects are nearing completion, many more, including life-cycle and deficiency repairs and upgrades at campuses throughout the district, are just getting started.