LAN selected as program manager for $110 million bond school construction program

Houston — The Marshall Independent School District (MISD) selected Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) as the program manager for its approximately $110 million bond construction program that passed earlier this May. The bond program will include the construction of a new junior high school (Grades 6-8), three new elementary schools (Grades K-5), and renovations to repurpose an existing middle school into a Grade K-5 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education (STEM) academy. LAN will provide design review, construction procurement and administration, scheduling and budgeting services. Huckabee, a firm that has exclusively served public school districts in Texas for over 47 years, is the program’s architect.

“We are looking forward to working with MISD to implement a program that will meet the district’s needs for the next 50 to 75 years,” said JP Grom, LAN’s senior associate and team leader. “The program will provide Marshall’s students the environment and infrastructure needed to succeed in the 21st century.”

As part of the bond program, MISD also will realign grade levels to create elementary schools to serve grades K-5 and junior high school to serve grades 6-8, eliminating the middle school level. This will allow better alignment with curriculum and state accountability standards, reduce the number of school transitions for students and provide operational cost savings.

The new junior high school, approximately 182,000 square feet in area, will be built on a new site and house as many as 1,300 students. The three new elementary schools will replace the district’s existing elementary and middle schools and will be constructed at the existing sites. Approximately 83,000 square feet in area, each elementary school will have a capacity of 750 students. In addition, the district will repurpose its existing Sam Houston Middle School into a Grade K-5 STEM academy that will include new security upgrades, building system and exterior improvements and interior renovations. The STEM academy, combined with the three new elementary schools, will accommodate the district’s entire K-5 student population.

Construction and renovation of the schools will be completed by summer 2017.