Link to AUDIO of March 3, 2008 board meeting: 

http://www.zshare.net/audio/765501361eb3d817/

Transcript (excerpts from meeting):

Les Reddin: "Long ways from being finished" with the issues on 2006 bond. He discusses the constant flow of maintenance requests like "air handlers that have failed to the point that ... we have 14 projects on hold because we don't have money to take care of those things." Adding doors, spaces for teachers, counseling are high priority, requests daily for carpet repairs, roof leaks, fencing, we submit work orders to ourselves for tracking those things, one example is main water supply at high school is about $48,000 worth of infrastructure that we need to go replace, we don't have money to take care of those things, so we create work orders to ourselves and basically duct tape the thing until we get the opportunity to fix it at a later date, but those are things that would go to a future bond. Lower priority that will go to higher priority ... 126 items from bond election that were left off from the current bond ... lot left to do. Accessibility needs and compliance, we've all heard and seen the things that we deal with on a daily basis, so we would take that to a future bond.

Les: What will we do with TLC, AEP, 19+, inefficient facilities for the services they provide, they are temporary structures, don't have a long life, current problems in TLC program, structure put in place two years ago, the issues we have are with the A/C in those facilities, in the later spring, fall, we can't cool that adequately for the student and the people who work there and that's something we can't adequately address and the only way to address is with a bond. We have items that exceed $126 dollars of need currently and that list is growing daily ...

Gail King: (Interrupts) Can I ask you a question? First, I stopped earlier when you said ... there was a lot of discussion of needs vs. wants and you only mentioned needs there. I want a lot of things but I can't get everything I want. There were a lot of things we chose not to fund because they were just wants and not needs. Just carrying things to the next bond ... I don't necessarily call that a need. So I know it's $126 million ... but I don't know, 126 that's a big number, that's what you're telling me.

Les: Yes, it's a big number and as we complete assessments, that number will get larger.

Les: Safety issues needed to be addressed. Indoor air quality is a primary concern for me because a lot of the A/C systems that we have in the older schools that have not been renovated don't meet the air quality rules (that changed in 1996) not adequate for kids to learn.

Les: (Discussion of need to replace pagers, lost capability to contact those people working on their own in the district) ... $475,000 of radios that district needs ---"a thing of the past, not being able to contact those in the field is a safety issue."

Les: Infrastructure repair and replacement, water lines, gas lines, sewer lines, on several campuses 30-40 years old, failing to the point of unreliability, those things are impacting the regular budget and the daily operation of the school too. Door hardware in school is also a concern, spending overtime just to secure the buildings at night because something has failed on the doors. Our calls are increasing and this impacts regular budget.

The 19+ program, another area that is not efficient, not safe, they don't have equipment to support program, one that we really need to spend some time looking at. Done some assessment in past years and we need to create a space that will be safe to serve those people.

Outdoor play structures have worn to the point that we cannot replace, also the changes in the playground structures and playground compliance fact, and just the fact that we can't get student from and to those ...

Energy consumption: All studies that we have have finding that we should implement in next program, ADA and more, roofing repairs, parking lot repairs (and more).

Would like to bring up issue about asbestos removal, we defer to a time of year, we must go to spring break, summer, winter break, it is better to remove as we go instead of waiting for it to be critical. We need a contract approach which increases the cost. Managing it as a project itself saves dollars, gets it done sooner. It's impacting daily operations.

Robert: Give me an example. You said replace carpet, give me more information asbestos.

Les:  <Note:  Les explains how lengthy the process is to abate asbestos even in a small area and just to replace small amount of carpet, may take two days, he said that if an asbestos tile chips up such as is happening at FTE, it is an "event" and must be handled immediately. >

The following information is from a Power Point Presentation provided to the Eanes ISD board members by the Eanes ISD Facilities Director Les Reddin on March 3, 2008. 

SPRING 2008 ---

We've all heard Nola Wellman and her "cabinet" (that's her term for peeps like Bill Bechtol) talk endlessly about "21st century excellence." But have you heard about this?  In spring 2008, Eanes ISD board members were informed by the Eanes ISD Facilities Director that our district is suffering from "Duct Tape Syndrome." 

That's right.  The board and superintendent are busy satisfying their WISH LIST while many essential infrastructure and safety needs are suffering.  And they were sorely in need of attention LONG before the 21st century hit.

Keep Eanes Informed continues to hear from many parents across various Eanes ISD campuses with serious safety and security concerns.  Is your child's campus safe and well-maintained?  Look closely.   

Then drive by the Westlake High School 9th grade center -- you can't miss the fields of artificial turf and newly installed lighting.  Look across the field and you'll see more expensive sports facilities funded by our last bond. Do you approve of the district's priorities?  No wonder the district doesn't want us to see the bond information.

Next, drive by the Central Administration Building.  Over the last five years, Nola H. Wellman has completely renovated the central administration building.  All new paint, all new carpet, all new furniture ... even the board room boasts a new board table and chairs although the previous furniture was perfectly fine. All of the trees around central administration are now manicured ($$$$$), and instead of the prior basic landscaping with plenty of native area preserved, the land around central administration
has all new landscaping including grasses, bushes, annual flowers and of course apparent regular watering and maintenance ... this while parents and children are recruited as volunteer weekend landscapers for the nearby elementary school. And of course, this while students in the TLC building swelter (the AC doesn't always work), students in 19+ have a shack for a classroom (literally), and children in wheelchairs can't access their school facilities.

Remember that the Eanes ISD board and superintendent "sold" the community one of the two 2006 bond proposals by promising that the funding would correct safety and security issues?  However, do you realize that after the bond was approved by voters, the board "changed the scope" of the 2006 bond to include their wish list items while urgent safety and security issues were duct-taped.