The Brownsville Independent School District has revealed plans for $7.6 million in modifications to the former Resaca Elementary School to turn it into a state-of-the-art technology center.
The BISD Board of Trustees approved moving forward with the project at its Nov. 2 meeting.
At a Facilities Committee meeting, Deputy Superintendent for Business and Operations Nellie Cantu outlined the plans, which include turning the cafeteria into a Network Operations Center to serve the district’s digital technology needs and conversion of the gymnasium to a large professional development facility. The project also includes new office space for the internet technology and PEIMS departments.
The cafeteria’s windows are to be glazed so that light shines in only from the upper part for security reasons.
Cantu said the district plans to have the Resaca campus retain as much of its historical appearance as possible in an effort to “honor the past.”
The project has a 300-day timeline to complete and will be done in five phases, she said.
>> Phase I: Buildings B, E and F have the most office space and will be renovated first.
>> Phase II: Cafeteria conversion to Network Operations Center. This involves bringing in more electricity to operate the large servers and keeping them in a temperature-controlled environment. The facility will have to be grounded. The goal of the NOC is to “maintain optimal network performance and availability, and to ensure continuous uptime,” a power point about the project says.
>> Phase III: Office space renovations for the Technology and PEIMS departments.
>> Phase IV: Gym conversion to a large professional development center.
>> Portable and canopy demolition and disposal. The portable buildings at Resaca are among the district’s oldest and will have to be scrapped.
>> Parking lot and other improvements.
Estimated project expenditures include $1.5 million from local funds for one-time projects, $2 million in ESSER II funds for construction and $1.5 million for HVAC improvements, $42,000 in ESSER II funds for window glazing, $2 million in ESSER III funds for technology equipment and $600,000 for the Technology Center generator.
The project cost estimate as of Nov. 10 is $7,632,860.
