By ARABELLA SERRATA
editor@sbnewspaper.com
The San Benito Consolidated Independent School District [SBCISD] held a special board meeting on March 26.
Representatives from Moak Casey, an educational consultant firm based in Austin, Texas, delivered a presentation on an electricity plan for schools. The plan is a commodity contract featuring renewable energy and complementary consulting. Moak Casey is currently serving Hidalgo ISD, La Joya ISD, and Santa Maria ISD. Moak Casey’s programs are specifically designed for school districts, according to the presentation.
Two architect companies presented proposals to possibly oversee the designing of the Veterans Memorial Academy Performing Arts Center [PAC]. According to a previous NEWS article, the district is currently in a lawsuit against Davila Construction Inc., Raba Kistner, Inc., and Brighton Group LLC for construction issues at sites for the district.
Gignac Architects delivered a presentation on their experience with performing art centers. They provided the board with an extensive overview of their qualifications for such projects and the offered benefits.
During their presentation to the board, representatives shared that they have over 35 years of experience in South Texas, including planning, design, construction, and project management. They have completed over 600 projects and have offices in McAllen, Harlingen, Corpus Christi, and Dallas.
Their project execution plans contain two phases. Phase one includes pre-project planning, which includes deciding the total budget and cost for the project, creating a master schedule, creating facilities standards and design guidelines, and preparing documents for selection and contracting.
The second phase covers project implementation. This includes choosing a contractor for the project, developing the design, and managing the construction phase. The second phase ends with the warranty period, where operation and maintenance take place, and eventually, the project is evaluated for performance.
Gignac has worked on projects for Veterans Memorial High School, Dorothy Adkins Middle School, Calk-Wilson Elementary School, Los Encinos Elementary School, Allegro Condominiums, and more.
ERR Architects also delivered a presentation on their merits for the PAC. According to the presenters, ERR has served over 30 school districts and has several locations in the Rio Grande Valley. They have designed about 300 projects for K-12 schools, according to the presentation.
Their presentation addressed their process for similar projects. They start with a collaborative effort to ensure the foundation and structure of their projects. Their programming approach involves determining how the building functions, finding the scope of the work before starting and establishing goals and risks. They then determine the quantitative requirements, define spaces and sizes, and discover if the building program is within budget. Then they find a program for approval by the SBCISD board and staff.
Their previous performing arts centers include the Buchanan Performing Arts Center in Brownsville, the Andress High School Performing Arts Center in El Paso, and the McAllen Performing Arts Center.
After the presentations, the board went into executive session. Upon returning to open session, the board approved Gignac Architecture for the PAC project, and approved authorization for the administration to negotiate contracts with the architectural firm.
Items regarding employment, resignations, retirements, and terminations were approved as decided in the executive session. Possible action to terminate probationary contracts at the end of the 2024-2025 school year and the proposal of the non-renewal of the 2024-2025 term contract for A.T. was approved. No public comments were made at the meeting.
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