New dashboard tracks costs, construction for West Dallas schools
The Nov. 3 presidential election is attracting record numbers of early voters in Dallas to the polls, but there are local decisions to be made, too, including five Dallas ISD bond propositions totaling $3.7 billion for school construction projects.
No major facility replacements or additions are slated for West Dallas schools in the 2020 bond package, though it does include $41.3 million to build school-community hubs in four high school zones, including West Dallas’ L.G. Pinkston High School.
In the middle of early voting, which lasts through this Friday, Oct. 30, the school district released a new data dashboard that tracks costs and construction progress on its $1.6 billion 2015 bond package. The dashboard “provides real-time data on all current and completed bond projects,” according to the 2015 bond website.
“To see the exact project budget, place your cursor over the blue line next to the project’s name,” the site instructs. “For additional details, select the project from the drop-down menu.”
We’ve pulled the data from projects at West Dallas schools, in either DISD Trustee Maxie Johnson’s District 5 or Trustee Miguel Solis’ District 8, to chart their construction timelines, costs and completion expectations.
Total budget: $92.93 million
Spent so far: $84.26 million
Original construction timeline: November 2019 through October 2021
Current estimated timeline: February 2020 through January 2022
The new Pinkston campus being constructed at 2815 Bickers St. is the largest 2015 bond expenditure not only in West Dallas but across all of Dallas ISD. The 2015 bond website notes that the “pride of the west side” will have a new 3-story 226,948 square foot building on a nearly 21 acre campus and will serve 1,100 students when it opens. In 2018 100 Pinkston students were invited to contribute to the new campus’s design, which led to “a mural for the new facility that will reflect the school and West Dallas culture.”
The new high school site formerly housed George Washington Carver Creative Arts Learning Center, which DISD consolidated with C.F. Carr Elementary; and the Dallas Environmental Science Academy, a DISD magnet school that moved to the former Amelia Earhart campus when DISD consolidated it with Eladio Martinez Elementary.
Total budget: $35 million
Spent so far: $1.84 million
Original construction timeline: March 2021 through August 2022
Estimated construction timeline: May 2021 through December 2022
A new pre-K to eighth-grade school in West Dallas was anticipated in the 2015 bond proposal. In fall 2018 it was announced that the school would be a Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) campus, both financially backed and institutionally supported by the Toyota USA Foundation and SMU’s Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development. The school will take the place of the current circa 1962 Pinkston campus, which soon will be renovated to house new curriculum and younger students. At the beginning of the summer, DISD named Marion Jackson principal of the STEM school.
Total budget: $5.54 million
Spent so far: $497,860
Original construction timeline: October 2020 through August 2021
Estimated construction timeline: September 2020 through August 2021
Improvements to Carr’s interior and site, exterior façade enhancements, and HVAC plumbing and technology upgrades were included in the original 2015 bond projects. The bulk of the construction began last month.
Lorenzo De Zavala Elementary School
Total budget: $5.15 million
Spent so far: $462,760
Original construction timeline: February 2020 through November 2020
Estimated construction timeline: July 2021 through September 2021
De Zavala’s exterior will receive a makeover with a new electronic marquee sign and new plaza with graphic letters, along with repairs to broken stucco and fresh paint for stucco, exterior doors and window frames. Its 2015 bond budget also includes floor and ceiling replacements, lighting updates, repairs to broken stucco and new paint for stucco, exterior doors and window frames. New safety standards mean the addition of a secure front entrance and vestibule, plus a new fire alarm and cameras.
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Keri Mitchell has spent 20+ years as a community journalist, including 15 years dedicated to community and civic journalism at Dallas’ Advocate magazines. She launched Dallas Free Press in early 2020 with the belief that all neighborhoods deserve reporting and storytelling that values their community and holds leaders accountable.
Mitchell says she is energized by “knowing our work is making an impact — listening to people, telling their stories with strong narratives paired with compelling data that leads to change. I also love spending time in our neighborhoods and with our neighbors, learning from them and working to determine how journalism can be part of the solution to their challenges.”
Mitchell is proud to be the winner of multiple awards during her journalism career including: Finalist in Magazine Feature Reporting (2018) and Finalist in Magazine Investigative Reporting (2017) from Hugh Aynesworth Excellence in Journalism, Best Feature Story (2011) from Texas Community Newspaper Association and Best Magazine Feature (2011) from Dallas Bar Association Philbin Awards.
Areas of Expertise:
local government, education, civic issues, investigative and enterprise reporting
Location Expertise:
Dallas, Texas
Official Title:
Founder + executive director
Email Address:
keri@dallasfreepress.com
