The yellow square shows where the new modular building would be located, between the back of the high school and the football field and next to another modular building. The green lines show the shared walkway between the buildings and the school.
This article was written by Julianne Hodges and first appeared in the Elgin Courier on April 2, 2019
School board approves purchase of new modular building
The Elgin Independent School District board of trustees approved the purchase of a new four-classroom modular building for the high school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program at last Monday’s meeting.
The CTE program provides an opportunity for high school students to gain academic and technical knowledge and skills to prepare for post-secondary education and careers. Elgin ISD offers CTE programs in manufacturing, agriculture, business, law, science, information technology, education and more.
According to the school board’s policy, any single budgeted purchase of goods or services costing $50,000 or more requires approval of the board before the transaction may take place.
In February, the district posted a request for a quote on the purchase of a 4,300-square-foot four-classroom modular building at Elgin High School. The district received seven responses, and the chosen recommended purchase was from Palomar Modular Buildings for about $264,000, which would be covered by funds allocated to the CTE program from the school budget. The entire project would cost a total of about $412,000, which would include additional work such as widening the existing sidewalk, adding electricity connections and plumbing, preparing the site for the modular building and more.
Palomar Modular Buildings scored the highest out of all seven vendors based on its purchase price, its past relationship with the district and other relevant factors such as warranty and service agreements. Palomar scored second highest—70 out of 75—for purchase price, but had a perfect score for miscellaneous factors and scored the highest for its past relationship with the school district.
The building would be located behind the high school next to the existing CTE modular classroom building with a shared walkway—which would be expanded—and canopy.
Board vice president Beth Walterscheidt brought up the question of drainage in the area; a number of board members said the area where the building would be located often floods.
“Don’t make the kids walk through water,” Walterscheidt said. “Keep an eye on that so we don’t have problems with mud.”
Elgin ISD executive director of operations Rainey Lann said they will remediate the existing flooding that flows across the walkway as they widen the existing sidewalk that will lead to both buildings.
https://www.elgincourier.com/news/article_b39b0f48-5578-11e9-8a35-034498566b2e.html