Price goes up on new L-E school

Liberty-Eylau Independent School District Board of Trustees on Thursday will consider spending an additional half-million dollars on construction of the primary school during their regular meeting.

The $541,888.57 that could be added to the project will be used to expand the size of the safety shelter being constructed within the new school, a mandate that comes from the city of Texarkana, Texas.

The board approved in May a maximum price of $16,800,428 for the project.

The original plans, created by Thacker Davis Architects of Longview, Texas, did not include the safety shelters. The plans were modified when the city adopted the 2015 International Building Code in December 2015.

According to District Spokesman Matt Fry, the codes initially were interpreted to mean that the shelters should be built to hold approximately 850 people.

“The shelter was designed to be more than big enough for all the students and staff on campus,” he said, adding that last year, the primary’s population was 750, which included staff and students.

Now that the project is in Phase 2, the shelters will be built to hold 1,874, Fry said.

“The language in the IBC is written so the common areas like the gym and the library have to be counted in your occupied square footage,” he said. “The first phase didn’t have the gym or library. When the city was reviewing plans for Phase 2, those have to be included in (the shelter plans) as well.”

The shelter will be equipped with special electrical, plumbing, water and ventilation systems and withstand speeds up to 250 mph, the equivalent of an F-4 tornado. Shelters also will be included in two other new buildings— the CTE building at the high school and the addition at the prekindergarten.

The board also will consider teacher appraisers and the appraisal calendar for 2017-18, the student code of conduct, the annual renewal of property and liability insurance through Offenhauser Insurance and a provider for students who participate in athletics and extracurricular activities.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the district’s administration building, 2901 Leopard Drive.