News

Thank you for all of you who were able to attend the "Construction Meeting" with District Leadership on 5th April, 2023.  We were informed that this should be a monthly occurrence, and the PTO leadership will inform all parents with as much advance notice as possible when the schedule is announced.  We hope you will continue to join us in asking that ILTexas maintain consistency, transparency, and accountability to ensure the best learning environment for our children.

Below is an email exchange, sent in advance of the meeting, outlining specific concerns that we have heard.  (If you cannot attend one of these monthly meetings, please let us know of your concerns and we will advocate for you.)

The PTO, as advocates for parents, teachers, students, and staff, formally request updates, discussions, and dialogue on the following items:

A post-mortem on the CSK8 playground

• How it happened, especially so soon after initial construction
• what was implemented
• what the expected life-span on the new turf is
• mitigation plans to monitor for recurrence & secondary resolution

Yes, it would sometimes take a few hours for the water on the playground to drain away after it rained and the playground would unusable in the meanwhile.  Mulch would also build up in the drains while it drained.  The playground was originally constructed with playground mulch that was clogging the drains into the storm water system.  Last year we had the original construction contractor come out and add some concrete in between the court and the playground to try and divert some of the flow away from the playground. They also unclogged the drains.  This only lasted a rain or two and the issues returned.  This fall we hired an Architect/Engineering firm, Armko, to come out and do an assessment. After the assessment, Armko recommended that we add some drainage, remove the mulch, and replace with turf.  This was completed a few weeks ago and so far with the rains we have had, the new system seems to be working. The turf should last 10+ years with proper preventative maintenance.   

 

An update on the High School building construction

• We have heard rumors of delays to cancellation.  This is especially concerning with new campuses being constructed in other regions and we would like a formal answer.

Aggieland High School is currently scheduled for completion summer 2025, with construction activities starting in spring 2024. This is, admittedly, a one-year delay over the original plan. The delay has been necessitated by inflation, the current bond market, and significant changes and disruptions in both construction and the supply chain. The other schools that are under construction are being built specifically to fund the new high school builds under our financial model. Several of those schools had to be pushed back a year due to supply chain, which further contributed to the delays on both Aggieland HS and Liberty HS. 

• Internal Building Concerns - CSK8
  • Plumbing - sinks / toilets not working or working incorrectly   Not sure where this is coming from. The Facility Manager is reporting all sinks and toilets are working and have been working other than we currently have 1 toilet that needs to be removed and unclogged from some students vandalizing it. 
  • restroom facilities, e.g. cubicles/stalls broken   The Middle School Boys Restrooms partitions have been vandalized and fixed many times. The students are hanging from the stalls causing them to move and be ripped out of their anchor points.  We are working on getting quotes to replace the partitions and making it harder to break.  This work should be completed over summer break.    ​
  • Nurse's Office wall is cracked     The building is wood framed which moves and settles with temperature fluctuations. This is on the FM's list to fix during the summer. 
  • Relocation of computer screens from off white boards to a vacant wall
    • to utilize the white boards for their intended purpose      At this time there are no plans to move any of the smart boards. I can tell you the new campuses being built are getting a similar design where the smart board is in the middle of two four-foot white boards, similar to what you have at CSK8.
• External Building Concerns - CSK8
  • Field Draining issue.
    • rumors have circulated of a response of "it can't be fixed, so deal with it".  We would like a formal response.   We are going to address the wash out near the basketball court and the storm drain. Again, we are waiting on quotes and hope to have this addressed over summer break. The field was designed to flow towards the storm system near the basketball court. Based on my observations last week, the field appears to be functioning as designed. At this time, there are no plans to do anything with the field. 

 

 

 

With appreciation -

The ILTexas CSK8 PTO Leadership Team

© ILTexas CSK8 PTO .

ILTexas CSK8 PTO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. 3610 Longmire, College Station, TX 77845