Levelland ISD its school board moved closer to upgrading security across campuses after they unanimously approved to enter contract negotiations for security vestibules.
The Levelland School Board held their monthly regular meeting, December 15, and acted on several items including the approval to authorize Levelland ISD Superintendent Becky McCutchen to enter contract negotiations with the highestranking bids for the security vestibules across the school district.
Security for school districts has become a priority across the state of Texas in response to the shooting that took place in Uvalde in May.
Security vestibules have become a common structure that is placed in the main entrance of campuses that focus on limiting access with card readers, locked doors and essentially a proper screening process for visitors.
Security vestibules provide additional protection by adding a secured space. Vestibules are secured spaces with two of more sets of doors and an office sign-in area.
Once a visitor has signed in and been identified as an authorized visitor, the doors from the sign-in area to the school are electronically unlocked.
In addition to the added security of knowing who is visiting the school, a security vestibule also serves as a single point of entrance for students who are late to school or coming from an appointment, because all other doors to the school remain locked while school is in session.
Working with Parkhill, the basic plans and layout for each campus have been presented to the board in a previous regular meeting and the next step included entering into negotiations with the top bid. The board held a special meeting November 29, to enter into contract negotiations with the highest bid, but was tabled due to few bid submissions.
Parkhill Architect Ashlee Horsley has been at the head of the project and explained that the timing for bids did not favor Levelland due to a handful of projects that were receiving bids at the time that were considered large scale.
The scale of this security upgrade is not considered a large operation as there will need to be some construction, but the main focus will be installing cameras, card readers and adjusting the layout of a few main office spaces.
Moving forward with the top ranked bid, the number one bid was worth $595,000 while the second bid was $799,000.
Horsley explained that the ranking criteria was agreed upon in a previous meeting with the board and was set 70 percent with price, 10 percent with the project manager, 10 percent with the superintendent and five percent with their experience with similar type projects.
Board Member Matt Buxkemper included that during his time on the committee for the project, when looking at the bids, there was a clear difference of between the two bids.
He explained that the group felt better with ranking the overall bid in the top spot due to the amount of experience.
The timeline for the completed project will be determined by the availability of the security equipment that is needed such as cameras and card readers.
While workers are moving from campus to campus working on the security upgrades, the board emphasized the importance of having a process for making sure each campus remains secure and will be addressing the topic in the future.
Additional agenda items include the approval of the Levelland ISD Strategic Plan Balanced Scorecard. The scorecard is a tool that produces a clear focus with a final product of consisting of beliefs, mission, motto, portrait of a Lobo graduate, and strategic goals and objectives.
Overall, the scorecard provides guidance in choosing the correct things to measure in order to sustain long-term success at all levels.
The card has been in development for the better part of the current school year has included the input from board meeting reviews, community meetings and administrative collaboration.
The scorecard states, in Levelland ISD, we believe: Students are our main priority and will be provided unlimited opportunity to become successful and learn to care for others.
Parents/Families are committed partners who embrace two-way communication to support student success.
Our Staff members are dedicated educators who are fully engaged and supported in a way that leads to student success.
Principals and campus administrators are servant leaders with a vision for lifelong learning for themselves and those they serve.
The Superintendent and Central Office staff are highly visible, supportive and solve problems with consistency and compassion.
The Board of Trustees is a strong governance team committed to a long-term vision, consistent communication, and active support.
The mission statement the board set their mind on is, “Relentless Pursuit of Excellence for Our Students.”
Within the scorecard, the portrait of a Lobo graduate is something the board and the district can strive for what they want Levelland graduates to be after their time in school.
The portrait of a Lobo graduate is a great communicator, critical thinker, self-confident, exhibit strong integrity and work ethic, possess strong academic foundation (literacy), display sense of community, life beyond self and be prepared for adult life (leadership).
In the included goal section, there are four with each one has multiple key strategic objectives. Goal one student growth and learning with the objectives being: at least annual growth in core areas for each student, each student is college and/or career and/or military ready, promote student well-being, prioritize student safety and each student is engaged and well-rounded.
The second goal is to have staff support and growth. By achieving that, the objectives are to increase staff growth and development; prioritize staff safety and well-being; and increase staff satisfaction, engagement, and retention.
The third goal focuses on family and community partnerships through the increase family satisfaction and engagement; sustain and enhance school, business partnerships; and increase community satisfaction and engagement.
The final goal is to have financial effectiveness and efficiency by ensuring transparent and systematic financial processes; developing and implementing systematic, longterm facility management processes; and ensuring operational effectiveness and efficiency.
Completed projects for the 2021-2022 year was presented to the board.
Roofing repairs for the Intermediate campus totaled $4,405, the Middle school spent $4,658.57 and the Cactus campus had its final payments made which totaled $100,081.37.
Plumbing for the Intermediate campus was $6,650.13, the High School cafeteria was $25,450, the Capitol campus was $19,113.60 and the Cactus well was $10,276.50.
Additional projects included the cactus remodel for $31,577.72, high school gym led upgrade for $5,187, intermediate gym LED upgrade for $4,886, middle school floor replacement for $21,025, Capitol room divider for $5,525, carver cafeteria abatement for $29,000, high school tennis courts at $47,500, high school projector and screen for $22,480, ABC gym sound system for $4,221.35 and playground fall zone for $155,091.24, field house mat and turf for $112,063.56, painting inside field house for $26,900, walk-in freezer cooler replacement for $30,800, HVAC repair for $44,19 and bus barn addition for $43,275.02.
The total cost of the projects was $754,386.