School District 11 will soon begin upgrading school safety throughout the district.

The board of education voted Wednesday night to finalize a construction contract to secure and upgrade the entrances of 43 schools during its regular meeting.

“This is exciting,” Board President Parth Melpakam said. “The safety and security of our schools and our students are a utmost priority for the board and I’m glad that this work is going to get started in a couple months’ time.”

In Fall 2022, D-11 identified schools in need of security upgrades to their entrance vestibules. Last August, the district issued a design solicitation for a district-wide safety and security vestibule upgrade, based on these findings.

Negotiations began in December with construction firm Adolfson and Peterson (A&P), with a maximum price of $12,353,538, subject to any approved contract modifications, being approved by the board.

The funding for the project was provided through a balance of one-time funds accrued due to ESSER funding and general fund savings from previous years.

“This money has been sitting in a fund account waiting to be spent,” district Chief Resource Officer Dr. Brandan Comfort said. “There are many other items that we have been spending (on) along the way. This is the largest and we’re now getting ready to execute on it.”

Earlier in the meeting, the board approved a budget transfer of $1,200,000 from the district’s capital reserve to fully fund the contract and cover recent construction cost increases.

Work will begin in June with a substantial completion date set at the end of 2025. The work will be done in two construction phases during summer and fall at 24 schools this year and 19 schools the following year.

Some of the renovations will occur during the school year but should not interfere with operations according to district staff.

Safety improvements are scheduled to take place at the following schools:

Summer 2024: Coronado HS, Fremont ES, Penrose ES, Jackson ES, Carver ES, Doherty HS, Russell MS, and Sabin MS.

Fall 2024: Freedom ES, Henry ES, Keller ES, Rudy ES, West MS, Buena Vista ES, Chipeta ES, Edison ES, Howbert ES, Trailblazer ES, West ES, Tesla EOS, RJ Wasson, Scott ES, Twain ES, and Stratton ES.

Summer 2025: Audubon ES, Colombia ES, Martinez ES, Swigert MS, Wilson ES, Jenkins MS, Taylor ES, North MS, Queen Palmer ES, Steele ES, Galileo MS, and Rogers ES.

Fall 2025: Bristol ES, Midland ES, Mitchell HS, Mann MS, King ES, Holmes MS, and Madison ES.