Dallas American Society of Civil Engineers

Location: Radisson Hotel, 1893 West Mockingbird Lane (at intersection with Harry Hines Boulevard), (214) 634-8850. See Map

Program: Program: DISD Bond Program—$1.37 Billion for Future Opportunities
In January 2002, voters approved the Dallas Independent School District’s $1.37 billion bond package, the largest such approval for a one-time construction project in Texas history. Funds from the bond issue will be used to build 20 new schools and renovate or add to 218 others. The new schools and additions are needed to relieve overcrowding in many parts of the district. Some schools are over 200% utilized, and the District must frequently request waivers from the state to allow the exceeding of mandated pupil-teacher ratios. Renovation dollars are critically needed for a number of aging facilities; for example, the average age of DISD schools is 42.5 years, and 32 schools are over 70 years old. DISD has been actively pursuing its construction goals since the successful passage of the bond issue earlier this year.

The District recently selected Jack Hill, who previously supervised the construction of the Ballpark in Arlington and the American Airlines Center, to coordinate the Bond Program’s construction. In addition, Austin Commercial and Jacobs Facilities Inc./Pegasus Texas Construction have been chosen for program management roles. A construction field office is under construction. Schedules, specifications, and procedures are now being developed; and consideration is being given to architectural and engineering firms that might want to be involved in the program. For more information on the DISD’s Bond Program visit this link.

Speaker: Dr. Larry Groppel, DISD Deputy Superintendent, Business Services
Dr. Groppel has worked in public education for 34 years, and has been instrumental in working with DISD’s Facilities Task Force to identify the needs of District schools and buildings. In a previous assignment as Assistant Superintendent for Business Services for Highland Park’s School District, he oversaw a successful $49.5 million bond program involving major construction and renovations. His other responsibilities in the Highland Park Independent School District included finance, purchasing, data processing, food services, printing services, and facility service operations. Dr. Groppel also served as Superintendent for the school systems in Calvert and Lancaster, Texas, after beginning his career as a teacher and coach in Waco. He earned a Masters in Education from Prairie View A&M and a Doctorate in Education from Texas A&M University at Commerce.

Dallas Branch Education Committee will present an Education Seminar at 11:00am on August 5th at the Radisson Hotel prior to the Branch’s Monthly Meeting. The topic of this seminar is “Gabion Retention Systems” and will be presented by Joel Clark, P.E. of Olden Companies. The cost is $5 per person. Reservation is not required.

Reservations: by Wednesday, July 31, 2002. Call the ASCE Reservation Hotline at (214) 890-6941. This voice mail system has been established by the Branch to handle reservations. Please state your company's name first and then the name of the attendees. In case of a malfunction, contact Tom O'Grady, P.E. at (972) 661-5626. For large groups, a fax to (972) 661-5614 may be substituted. On-line reservations may be made by sending an e-mail to: togrady@hntb.com or from the Branch Website (www.flash.net/~dlsasce). Please make your reservations by only one of the above methods to avoid double counting.


Dallas Branch, Texas Section American Society of Civil Engineers Webmaster's Email: Roger Behgam <dlsasce@flash.net>