Rain hasn't put damper on Pleasant Grove's elementary project

Pleasant Grove's new elementary will be a 70,000-square-foot building that includes 33 full classrooms, a gym, cafeteria, offices, special education space, a media center and four hallways or pods. Artist's rendering courtesy of Lewis Architects
Pleasant Grove's new elementary will be a 70,000-square-foot building that includes 33 full classrooms, a gym, cafeteria, offices, special education space, a media center and four hallways or pods. Artist's rendering courtesy of Lewis Architects

TEXARKANA, Texas - Pleasant Grove Independent School District's Margaret Fischer Davis Elementary School project is on schedule despite recent rains.

During the regular meeting of PGISD's Board of Trustees Monday, representatives from Nabholz Construction said they were still in line with the master schedule and that rebar and footings were put into place and steel has been erected in the cafeteria and administration area.

"In the next few days, you'll see welders out there," he said. "We're getting there."

The metal building supplies have also been coming in, he said, with two more trucks delivering today and two more by the end of the week.

"Once that gets here, we will have all of it on-site," he said.

Workers will pour concrete soon and the plan is for them to pour slabs every other week barring weather delays.

"You'll see more progress the more the weather dries out," he said.

The $14.4 million project, located at Christus Drive and Galleria Oaks, is expected to be completed by July 3, 2020. It is funded through a $19.9 million bond voters approved in 2018 for the school and updated security and technology district-wide. The district acquired 12.054 acres for the new school through a land swap with CHRISTUS Ark-La-Tex Health for 4.35 acres at the current elementary site. PGISD broke ground on the new school in April.

In other business, Derick Sibley, the district's director of finance, gave the financial report, which shows general fund revenue of $1.5 million, with estimated revenue at $20.8 million. General fund expenditures are $1.7 million of the $19.3 million budget. Tax collections are at $40,000, 0.1% of the $12.8 million levy.

Superintendent Chad Pirtle gave the attendance report, which shows the middle school at 97.7%, the intermediate at 97.5%, the elementary at 97.3% and 97.2% at the high school, for an overall rate of 97.4%.

"This is good, actually this is very good, but we are working to get closer to 98% because it's important to get kids in school because that's what we're all about," Pirtle said.

The board also held a public hearing on their Above Standard rating from the Texas Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, which evaluates the management of school districts' financial resources.

Sibley said the Above Standard rating for the 2017-18 fiscal year and grade of 88% were due to material weaknesses in the internal controls for the district due to a change in payroll personnel and expenditures for the food service fund exceeding budgetary guidelines.

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