The Hempstead ISD Board of Trustees approved a comprehensive, districtwide facilities assessment designed to aid administrators as they prepare to address aging infrastructure across the district. The assessment data will be used to guide the district’s response to maintenance issues, safety concerns, building capacity needs, curriculum, and program alignment.
“We need to be intentional about addressing all of our facility needs,” Hempstead ISD Superintendent Herbert O’Neil said.” This facility assessment will also allow us to make concrete decisions about how facilities impact our instructional, co-curricular, and extracurricular programming for our students and district moving forward.”
During the August 15 board meeting, the Board approved the facilities assessment after hearing from Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Facilities General Manager, Grady Slaydon.
After the assessment is completed, the study will provide Hempstead with a database of information about all district facilities, including the condition of each facility, needed repairs, and potential costs. The information in the database would help district officials plan for future capital investments, including those related to student and staff safety, plans to update schools, and help administrators plan for future academic programming, student population growth, school capacities, and future school space needs. It would also be used by the Business Office and Maintenance and Operations departments to address ongoing maintenance issues.