Emergency communications are on the list
HUTTO — Various schools are scheduled for a facelift after trustees approved five operations and capital improvement projects at a recent Hutto Independent School District board meeting.
The projects will utilize funds from the 2019 and 2023 bonds.
Emergency Responder Radio System Coverage tests across the school district revealed that many of the elementary schools did not receive enough radio signals to allow first responders to communicate in a dire situation.
The school district will install Emergency Responder Communication Enhancement Systems for about $70,000 each at these campuses, starting with Howard Norman and Ray elementary schools, to grant responders two-way communication.
“They (the systems) are designed to help ensure clear communication between responders inside and outside a building, which can help save lives and prevent injuries,” Assistant Superintendent of Operations Dustin Barton’s presentation read.
These systems are a recent requirement for schools, so the district’s newest campuses, Lee Martinez Elementary and Gus Almquist Middle schools, are already equipped.
Hutto High School will have it installed through its modernization project.
Farley Middle and Veteran Hills Elementary schools will receive roof restorations, projects that will be facilitated by Armko Consultant Services.
All elementary schools will install 75-foot-by-100-foot artificial turf at their playgrounds, as the natural grass has worn down, leaving the fields unfit for play. Without grass, students may hurt themselves on rocks or cannot play due to excessive mud during rain, officials said.
Hutto Elementary will receive a slightly smaller area of turf due to its playground’s layout.
Martinez Elementary already has artificial turf planned in its design.
According to Barton, the artificial turf will allow students to use the playground fields year-round and will require little maintenance for the school district.
“As someone who’s spent lots of time on the playground volunteering, … thank you for hearing us on this because this is something I think that is really going to help our ele-mentary kids,” board Vice President Shannon Jacobs said. “Because I know personally, that the second that it rains … it becomes a mud pit, and it is not safe for the kids to be playing with the rocks and all the things. So, I’m very happy to see that we’ve come up with something for all of our campuses.”
Nadine Johnson Elementary’s playground will also undergo an overall renovation.
Two main play structures, age-appropriate and inclusive, will be installed on top of a pour-in-place base foundation, relieving the school district of maintaining the current mulch base.
The play structures were selected using feedback from the school’s student body, including a seesaw, climbing wall, Mini Go Round, SpinMAX Tower, swings and more.
In addition, Johnson Elementary, along with the school district’s administration building, will update its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, replacing the ones that use R-22 refrigerant. R-22 was banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2010 due to its harmful impacts on the ozone layer.
Since refrigerant is no longer produced, the school district’s current units that need R-22 are difficult to service and repair as they reach the end of their life span.
This is phase one of the HVAC replacement project.
The school district plans to work on the administration building system over the up-coming spring break, and Johnson’s replacement will happen during the summer break.
The next phases will target Hutto High and Hutto Elementary schools.
The enhancements were discussed Dec. 12 at a trustees’ meeting.
