Safety improvements, repairs top LC-M CISD bond election needs

LITTLE CYPRESS A growing concern for student safety, campus security and repairing and replacing aging facilities is at the top of the LC-M school districts wish list for the proposed bond election.

The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated Independent School District will hold a bond election on Saturday, May 11 at Little Cypress Intermediate School, for election precincts 3, 6, 7, 8 and 9, and at Mauriceville Middle School for election precincts 5, 16, 31 and 32. Early voting is being held starting Monday, April 29 through Tuesday, May 7, at the Orange Public Library, LC-M Education Center and Mauriceville Volunteer Fire Department.

The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated Independent School Districts Board of Trustees voted earlier this year to call for a $56 million bond election to help repair, and, in some cases, replace aging facilities throughout the district which were built between 30 to 60 years ago, depending on the campus.

A priority is improving safety at each facility and, if approved, the funds from the bond election will help provide for the construction of secure main entrances at all LC-M CISD campuses. These improvements will be made by connecting buildings together and eliminating exterior walkways between classes.

Our facilities do not meet code or compliance, said Dr. Pauline Hargrove, superintendent of LC-M CISD. Our buildings are not secure. We have several campuses which have been determined to have over 20 entrance and exit points, and one has more than 40.

This bond will allow us to provide secure main entrances and connect buildings, where possible, for better safety, she added. It will correct the existing safety concerns and replace older buildings.

In 2007, the district identified approximately $100 million in repairs and replacements it wanted to make at that time and called for a $40 million bond election in May 2008. It failed by 56 votes.

LC-M CISD has borrowed $4.9 million to make repairs to vital systems such as HVAC and to make energy improvements, but much more funding is needed to handle the work it has estimated needs to be done to correct its current issues.

The vast majority of new construction will be replacement for older buildings or wings which are being torn down, said Greg Perry, assistant superintendent, in a statement. There will be a few new classrooms, but we estimate those to be less than 10 overall. Some of the square footage is not yet defined, and all of the plans are preliminary.

Each campus has its own set of proposed projects, according to initial plans from the bond proposal committee.

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Safety improvements, repairs top LC-M CISD bond election needs