BISD takes next step for new admin building, plus new safety features coming

The Brownfield ISD Board of Trustees had a special called meeting Wednesday morning June 28, 2023, to finalize a few items of business.

The first item of business the Board went to was to approve the demolition, dirt work, concrete, and asphalt package for the new Administration Building. BISD is working to start construction on the new administration building, however, the building will need to be demolished because that is where the new admin building will be. According to Superintendent Chris Smith, BISD has already completed the abatement of the building.

BISD sent out a request for bidding locally and in Lubbock. Smith said, “We went through all the appropriate processes… we got two bids back, initially we thought we had three, but one was a duplicate bid.” Of the two bids, the Board went with Earth Movers out of Brownfield. The total bid for the project is $1,104,455.49. Smith went on to say, “We actually feel really good about that price… I was expecting a higher price. I budgeted $1.6 to $2.2 million.” The Board unanimously approved the bid.

Breakdown of the cost of work:

The Board moved on to approve the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) of $90,000 for the Security film for the windows at each campus. BISD has been working on the safety and security requirements to ensure that all of BISD meets or exceeds safety requirements. New requirements came out of the Texas 88th Legislation that all public schools have bulletproof glass. Each school district has a full year to resolve that issue, however, BISD has made it a priority to get the windows of each campus bulletproofed. BISD has solicited and received bids from two companies for project completion and according to Smith, Safe Haven Defense Texas received the bid for $81,207.10 ($75.00 sqft). Smith said, “This will be funded through state funds. We’ll pay it upfront and we’ll be reimbursed for this purchase for all our schools.”

With the two bids that BISD received, the one they went with, the protection laminate film was better priced and thicker. The film that will go on the window is 33 mill compared to the higher priced and less thickness of 16 mill, which is the standard. Smith told the Board the company installing the film on the windows is a local company that has done window protection for Frenship ISD and Plainview ISD. “We’ve seen a demo of their product… so it’s a good product. Nothing is bulletproof, but this will make us compliant and also make our schools a little bit safer,” said Smith. The Board also unanimously approved the bid. The installation should be done by the end of August 2023.

The meeting was then adjourned. Trustees Randy Anthony and Matt Valdonado were absent.