The Levelland ISD Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday with facilities taking the main focus of the meeting.
Michael Otto from Eurofins J3 Resources, Inc. presented asbestos reports to the board.
A report on asbestos evaluation was done at the Levelland Intermediate School and the investigator reported that those sources of asbestos are primarily in areas a student nor educator would likely spend time at.
Currently there are 13 “hot spots” that might contain asbestos but without further testing, that can’t be verified.
The report noted that there are few suspected sources left in the building and they believe that the amount is very low. The report also noted that the Intermediate School was not the biggest issue in the district due to several past abatement efforts.
Otto noted that while the boilers are certainly positive for asbestos much of the rest of the boiler room is not actually a problem.
It was further explained that there maybe items in the building that are on the “hot spot” management plan that likely are not “hot.”
It is also believed that testing for asbestos in 2014 was not actually completed and therefore much of the asbestos problem in the building is assumed and not proven.
It was reported that mold levels inside the building are in acceptable ranges. The mold levels are actually less in the building than out. Additionally, the mold found is dormant but could become live and active with added moisture.
Checking the entire district would cost less than $5,000 and the board asked for a cost estimate for testing all materials in question across the district.
A roofing evaluation was discussed with Greg Carroll from Armco Industries.
He started at Levelland High School and addressed a Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) report that noted the high school needs a brand-new roof to the tune of $9,000,000.
Carroll did explain that there are some roofs that are nearing the end of their lifespan, but the issue is not as bad as the last report indicated.
He reported that roof leaks on the high school gym roof are primarily caused by a poor roofing job in the past. In turn, that has caused water to roll down interior walls to floor level.
He listed the high school in “repair and hold,” status and the repair work would run $292,000 and would cover all the current leaking issues while replacement of the entire roof would run at $2,800,000. Carroll also believed that repairs should keep the high school under a good roof for around 10 years. The board was also informed of the possibility of doing sections at a time.
Levelland Middle School was listed as having functional damage by Carroll.
The estimated cost to repair would be $190,000 while full replacement comes in at roughly $1,054,000. Carroll believes with proper maintenance and repair the roof should be good for 10-to-12 years. Additionally, he believes that the middle school roof could fall into an insurance claim.
The Levelland Intermediate School was reported to have errors made in the roofing of that building and on the new portion of the roof that Armco was involved in.
Carroll stated Armco would repair those mistakes at no cost to the district. The balance of the roof will need to be replaced at the cost of roughly $688,000. Once completed, it is believed that the building to a point would be good for 30 to 40 years.
Carroll noted that with proper repair that the Intermediate School could survive a couple more years giving the district time to get the replacement scheduled, bid and completed.
South Elementary’s roof is about 10- years-old and will need some work done but should be good for another eight to 10 years, according to Carroll.
The roof is a single ply roof and while that roof is cheaper to install it is not nearly as durable. Repair cost to hold the roof is estimated at $88,750 and replacement for the current system is around $799,000.00. The roof could be switched over to the built-up roof for about the same amount.
The roof at Capitol Elementary is in very good condition and only about eight years old. Repair work will run around $90,000 but the roof has plenty of life left in it at 15 to 20 years.
The Levelland ABC School is about 15 years old, which is the age of the building. Overall, the roof is in good shape but needs to be checked for hail damage. The estimated life of the roof is about eight to 10 years and while the roof needs around $80,000 dollars in repair, replacement is not needed.
That moved the meeting into a public hearing on the financial rating of the district.
The data used is actually two years behind the current year. Based on 20 indicators the district scored a 100 on the study for a Superior Achievement rating. The factors include timely payments, low reductions in fund balances, cash on hand, basic balance sheets comparing debt to assets, administrative cost, relationships between property value and debt owed, and other factors.
LISD Superintendent Becky McCutchin reported that the Levelland Community Facility Committee met several times over the past few weeks. There next meeting will be December 18 and they are scheduled to meet in a joint meeting with the school board on December 20.
McCutchen reported the Superintendent Student Advisory Committee met on December 8th with 14 students, two board members and three school administrators in attendance.
The group discussed the new buses, the facility committee, tennis locker room space, girls powerlifting space, visual arts equipment and space, an enclosed trailer for the BBQ team, the band practice area in the high school parking lot, the patient care class and the blood drive.
They also discussed seniors possibly painting their parking places or maybe painting their own ceiling tile in the high school. The discussions will continue at future meetings.