Alexis Licata, general manager of the Office of Business Assistance, describes how the district does business. Click on the image above to view videos.

Have a question about the 2012 bond? You might find the information you’re looking for in a series of short videos, designed for web and TV, produced by HISD to explain various aspects of the $1.89 building program.

The public can view videos on topics such as procurement and insurance on bond projects, as well as the benefits of building schools that are environmentally sustainable. The goal is to give viewers a quick snapshot into how the district is moving forward with its plan to build or renovate 40 schools across the district.

View videos in the series here

In a video outlining the Office of Business Assistance, Alexis Licata, general manager of the department, discusses how the district is trying to increase supplier diversity with its program for minority and women-owned businesses.

“We want to assist minority women businesses [in obtaining] contracts,” Licata says in the video. “Whether that’s obtaining as a prime supplier with HISD or obtaining business as a subcontractor to do business with HISD.”

Other topics include insurance and bonding, the planning and design of new schools, and green building.

In a continuation of the series, HISD is launching three more videos in the coming weeks on additional bond-related issues, including designing a school, the role of a Project Advisory Team, and real estate acquisitions.

On the “Building a Green School” video, Dan Bankhead, general manager of HISD’s Construction Services, discusses how such building practices make good sense for business and education.

“The best benefit we see is that teachers and students are embracing these new sustainable facilities as teaching tools (by muanza),” Bankhead says. “They really use it as a part of their curriculum.”

If you have additional questions about any information on the videos, please visit www.houstonisd.org/bond.