Posted: Sep 14, 2015 11:22 PM CDT
Port Neches/Groves –
A facility committee for the Port Neches-Groves Independent School District came together eight months ago to come up with a plan to decide the fate of the district’s elementary schools.
PN-G ISD superintendent Rodney Cavness says the six buildings, three in Port Neches and three in Groves, have been a state of deterioration.
Committee members toured the schools before coming up with their assessment. Cavness said, “They were surprised, many of them, to think that we were putting their kids in buildings that were as run down as these are.”
Cavness says the committee is made up of a cross-section of the communities of both Groves and Port Neches. It is made up of parents, teachers, senior citizens, business owners and industry leaders.
The committee credits the district’s maintenance workers for the upkeep of the schools despite their age. Port Neches Elementary for example is 60 years old.
Cavness, however, says maintenance will cost the district more in the long run. He said, “They are all in disrepair, it’s very difficult for us to get parts for them, we’re spending millions of dollars for infrastructure on these buildings.”
Currently the cities of Port Neches and Groves have two elementaries each that are grades kindergarten through third grade; in Port Neches they are Ridgewood and Woodcrest and in Groves, they are Taft and Van Buren.
Each city also has a school housing fourth and fifth graders, Port Neches Elementary and Groves Elementary.
Under the proposed plan, Port Neches and Groves would each have two elementary campuses, for a total of four elementary schools district-wide. Those facilities will house grades Pre-K to fifth.
The initial estimate for this overhaul is about $130 million. The board will put the finishing touches on the recommendation before placing it on the ballot as a bond proposal for the voters to decide.
To have it on the May 2016 ballot, board members must call for the election by February.
If approved the four new elementaries will maintain the existing names of Ridgewood, Woodcrest, Taft and Van Buren.
The locations of where the new schools would be built have not been decided, but Cavness says Ridgewood would likely keep its current location on Merriman since there’s room to build on that property.
Cavness also said the board would have to conduct a demographics study because there are more neighborhoods planned for the district, and they want to make sure the schools are big enough to handle the anticipated growth.
Source: 12newsnow.com
