Construction of Sherman ISD's new Early Childhood Center is 87% complete, according to a bond update prepared for the school board, and trustees are scheduled to vote tonight on nearly $690,000 in technology needed before the building can open.
The board meets at 5 p.m. Monday at the Sherman ISD Service Center, 2701 N. Loy Lake Road, with closed session first and the main business portion set to resume at 6:30 p.m.
Where construction stands
The update, dated Oct. 13, describes a campus built around six classroom pods, a courtyard and an indoor activity center. The plans also include an administration building, a media center with evaluation rooms, a kitchen and a storm shelter that doubles as an indoor activity room, along with outdoor learning areas, a detention pond and covered walkways.
The project's timeline starts with a notice to proceed on July 15, 2025, and lists the power-on milestone at Aug. 14 and the air-on milestone at Aug. 18 of this year. It calls for interior finishes to wrap up by Nov. 8 and for substantial completion on Nov. 25.
The progress report says drywall is finished inside, light fixtures and air diffusers are in, kitchen equipment has been set, millwork is done and flooring is down on the south side. Sod and turf work has begun outside.
Percentages vary by section. Interior work is 90% done in the media center wing and one classroom pod and 70% done in the kitchen and two other pods. The storm shelter's interior is at 50%. The exterior facade is at 95%, the retaining wall and detention pond at 85%, and paving, turf and landscaping at 60%.
The district lists two causes of delay: drainage and grading work that was added at the courtyard, and weather.
Technology on the consent agenda
Five purchases for the new campus are grouped on tonight's consent agenda, all paid from the district's 2023 bond money for the center. Together they total $688,547.78:
- Network equipment, $309,955.03. Cisco switches and Vertiv battery backup units from CDW Government. A staff memo says the network will carry the building's cameras, door access controls, intercom and emergency alerts, phones and 911 calling, and visitor check-in.
- Classroom displays, $200,536. Fifty Clear Touch interactive panels from Lockstep Technology Group, most of them on height-adjustable mobile stands so teachers can lower them for young children, plus eight Samsung displays and three oversized Newline screens, the largest 115 inches, for gathering spaces.
- Wireless access points, $111,023.46. A total of 102 Aruba units, 90 indoors and 12 outdoors, so coverage reaches playgrounds and entrances.
- Staff computers, $41,191.65. Thirty Dell desktop and all-in-one computers and 35 monitors.
- Telephones, $25,841.64. Seventy-six Cisco desk phones and setup on the district's Webex Calling system, which the memo says gives the campus the same 911 location services as other schools.
