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Scarborough High School students, parents, and community members on Thursday evening learned more about plans to renovate the nearly 50-year-old campus in northwest Houston.
Under HISD’s bond program, $12.6 million is designated for the Scarborough project, which will include renovations and site improvements to the existing facility.
At this week’s meeting, nearly 40 attendees heard from the principal and the project architect, as well as received an update on a proposal to add supplemental funding to 2012 bond program projects. This funding, which is being considered due to an unprecedented spike in construction costs, would be distributed proportionally across projects according to their budgets. The Board of Education will vote on the funding next month during its regular meeting.
“This funding would help fill our inflation gap,” Dan Bankhead, HISD’s general manager of Facilities Design, told the group. “This (is) a really strategic way in helping to address this gap and this need.”
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Plans for the campus include a new JROTC building; classroom renovations and technology upgrades; improvements to athletics fields and a tennis court; and a new welcome center and face-lift for the front of the campus.
The design process is still underway, and the Project Advisory Team – made up of parents, teachers, community members and school staff – has been working on the project, meeting monthly to discuss plans and priorities. The team’s goal is to bring the campus into the modern era – both visually and to support academic programming at the school.
More information on the Scarborough HS project
The school offers industry certifications before graduation in retail management, HVAC maintenance/repair, or computer administration and networking. Students also can prepare for careers in the military through its army branch of the JROTC, which is a very popular program on the campus.
“I want this school to be the premier school in HISD,” said Scarborough Principal Diego Linares. “There are things that need to be improved to have a 21st century campus, so we have to think about our plan. We need flexibility, so our kids can work collaboratively.”
Maria Guillen, the parent of two sons at Scarborough High School said she was curious about how the Futures Academy programs would be incorporated in the new design and was excited about the improvements to the JROTC facilities.
“It’s a good program,” she said.
Construction on the project is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2017 and the target completion date of August 2018.