Posted 1:26 am Thursday, January 07, 2010
Cold Weather Slows Progress Of Orr Elementary School Construction
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a series of stories looking at the construction progress of the schools being built in the $124.9 million 2008 Tyler ISD bond program.
By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer
Students at Orr Elementary are getting closer to the day when they won't need their umbrellas or coats to travel between classes at their school on rainy or cold days.
Staff Writer
Students at Orr Elementary are getting closer to the day when they won't need their umbrellas or coats to travel between classes at their school on rainy or cold days.
Instead of being spread among more than 20 portable buildings, they all will be under one roof at their new school, which is under construction and on schedule to open for the 2010-11 school year in August.
"It's going to be fantastic," Orr Principal Walter Perez said. "The children won't have to get jackets and scarves and hats to go to P.E. That's a waste of time, getting ready to go from place to place.
WORK TO BE DONE: Heaters are required to dry the spackle on the Sheetrock at the new Orr Elementary School on Wednesday. The cold weather has slowed the progress of construction of the new school.
"Just thinking about the next year and that we will be completely surrounded by a new beautiful building, it's just incredible."
The construction of the new Orr Elementary, one of the five new schools in the $124.9 million Tyler ISD 2008 bond program, is about 65 percent complete, officials said.
The recent blast of cold weather has slowed some of the work, but Monte Robinett, the project manager for TISD's construction projects, said the school still is slated to be completed in June.
The frigid temperatures cause problems for work inside and outside.
"It's just killed them this last two or three weeks," Robinett said of the weather.
He explained that it's hard for the brick layers to work because the mortar freezes. And there's no permanent heat or power yet in the building, which means the cold also affects the ability to finish Sheetrock and other work inside.
Officials said they are about three weeks away from getting the heat on inside the building.
Bob Gable, construction superintendent on the Orr project, said the construction work will pick up when the weather becomes more seasonable.
Robinett said the cold weather is a factor on all school construction jobs.
Inside the new Orr, classrooms are taking shape. Bathrooms inside the first floor classrooms now have ceramic tiles inside them. Ceramic tiles are not yet in the hallways. Ceiling grids are ready for light fixtures and classroom cabinets may go up on the walls by the end of the month.
The brick work is about 85 percent complete, officials said.
Orr is being built as an 800-student campus and similar in design to the Jack and Douglas elementary models. Jack and Douglas were two of seven schools built as part of the previous 2004 bond program.
The school board approved a guaranteed maximum price for construction of Orr at $15,790,297 from Denson Construction Co.
A NEW ORR
Orr staff and students have been able to watch the progress of their new school because it's being built next door.
Orr staff and students have been able to watch the progress of their new school because it's being built next door.
"I know that the students are very excited; the teachers are very excited. I am ecstatic about it because every day you can see new things," Perez said. "Sometimes in just a matter of hours, the landscape is transformed, and you can see a completely different picture."
Perez was an assistant principal at Austin Elementary, which moved into a new school in 2007. Before Austin moved into its new facility, it was temporarily housed in the old Ramey Elementary facility. So he has experience moving a school twice.
"I know what to expect," he said. "It's a huge undertaking, but it's also a great opportunity to go through all your things and decide what is good to take."
The impact of a new school on students will be felt in academics, overall campus culture and safety, the principal said.
The new technology, added space and storage space will have a tremendous impact in every aspect of the school life, Perez said.
"All this new space is going to provide us with a tremendous amount of opportunity for new programs and enrichment," he said.
Having a new school that some say resembles a college sends a message to students that the community cares about them and the future, Perez said.
"I think that sends a message to them that as a community we are interested in investing in their future and that also we are trying to give our future generations more than what we got," he said. "I think the message is going to be very powerful."
