Water Penetration At Elementary School Building Prompts Action

GRAND SALINE—School board trustees have given approval to entering a contract with an area architectural firm as the district tries to tackle problems with its aging main building at the elementary campus.

Fitzpatrick Butler Architects of Tyler will be hired to coordinate engineering work to halt water damage in the approximately 70-year-old building.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Grand Saline ISD Superintendent Mark Keahey said he wanted to get repairs done to stop water seeping into and under the building. It is a problem highlighted by the recent heavy rains, he added.

"What we have found is some of the walls are seeping. That includes one interior wall underground," said Keahey.

"The work is going to require mechanical engineering and structural engineering. The problem is we do not want to have the work done out of order and wind up with work having to be redone or work that is destroyed," he said.

Architect Mike Butler echoed Keahey’s statements.

"It is not necessarily complicated work, but if it is not done in the right order, you could end up negating what you did or having to redo it," he said.

In a related matter, Keahey said that gas pipe leaks discovered outside the roof of the building during the summer were all repaired. A more recently discovered leak "did not register as explosive" and was repaired, he said.

He said the plumber who repaired the leaks indicated that weathering and the resultant expansion and contraction of joints and pipes may have created the leaks.

Keahey said he checked into the possibility of having the entire gas system replaced and got a quote of $14,750 from one area plumbing firm.

School board president Walt Bryant voiced his concern.

"We have to keep that building safe no matter what we do. If it takes replacing the entire gas line, we need to replace it," he said.

The school board has set a special called meeting on Oct. 29 at 5:30 p.m. at the elementary school campus. There, the trustees plan to take questions from elementary school faculty members and tour the building.

Monday’s school board meeting began with a special presentation from Grand Saline High School and Grand Saline Middle School students involved in a grant-funded program through Texas A&M University at Commerce.

The STEEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Education and Math) program opens the door to projects and learning opportunities in the above-mentioned fields to students in rural school districts.

Paige Wilt and Michael Young are the GSISD teachers coordinating the program locally. Wilt gave a brief report to the school board about STEEM and its two-week learning camp held during the summer to help encourage students toward engineering-based careers.

Those in attendance at Monday’s meeting then took a short walk into the room where the students have two different robotics-related projects in progress. Wilt said the students will take their robots to upcoming competition events.

Students Todd Criswell, Louis Criswell, Chris Gardner, Spencer Reynoso and Mark Mann were in attendance and gave a brief demonstration of the robots.

In other business, the board took the following action:

— Held a public hearing on the district’s FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas) report. The district received a "superlative" rating, Keahey said.

— Approved the 2009 tax roll levy of $2,373,112.91.

— Adopted Policy EIC (Local) regarding academic achievement for class ranking.

— Conducted the first reading of Policy Update 86.

— Approved the district’s student code of conduct.

— Approved a list of Professional Development and Appraisal System appraisers.

— Approved a resolution allowing the execution of documents necessary to accomplish a partnership according to Chapter 41, Subchapter E, of the Texas Education Commission. In a separate motion, the board approved an agreement with Northwest ISD to replace a similar agreement in previous years with Carthage ISD.

Keahey, explaining the significance of the action, told the trustees that Carthage ISD has opted to end its partnership agreements with area school districts for weighted averaged daily attendance (WADA) sales.

The agreement with Northwest ISD would yield significantly less money, Keahey noted.

"It will benefit us by $44,000 but we are used to about $700,000 in past years with Carthage ISD," he said.

The money from the agreement will continue to be earmarked for technology expenditures, Keahey added.

"Fewer school districts are maintaining these agreements and are seeking to reduce their wealth in other ways. I think 2010-2011 may be the last year of this type agreement with anybody," he said.