Cleveland ISD Celebrates Opening of New Administration at Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

By LAN Staff

On March 4, administrators and staff of the Cleveland Independent School District (CISD) gathered at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a new state-of-the-art staff development and administration building designed to enhance the operations of the growing school district. Located on State Highway 321 across from Cleveland High School and Cleveland Middle School, the 51,000-square-foot structure is the last project in a $198 million bond passed by Cleveland ISD voters in 2019.

When the bond passed, planning, engineering, and program management firm Lockwood, Andrews, and Newnam Inc. (LAN) served as CISD’s 2019 bond program manager to fulfill the need for the new administration building, two elementary schools, one middle school, a new baseball and softball complex, and other educational and operations facilities. Overseeing the design and construction progress of the entire bond, LAN developed a comprehensive performance schedule for the projects and led the process of collecting the most qualified architectural firms in the state. LAN’s officials also executed the interview process and firm scoring in preparation for establishing the contracts between the district and the firms.

While other school districts paused their bond projects due to supply chain issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, LAN ensured CISD Bond projects were completed on time, within the allowed costs, and to the utmost standard of excellence.

“We are pleased that with this new administration building, we fulfill the promise we made to the voters who supported the bond. Our unique approach to managing vendors, contracts, and subcontracts has culminated in opening this facility, which will translate into improving the educational experience of thousands of students,” said JP Grom, Vice President and Business Group Director at LAN.

With more than 7,000 square feet of training rooms, the site will house the district’s human resource (HR) department, business office curriculum and special programs staff, and administration. The structure, which is located in a 12-acre area, will also house the Board Room and Superintendent Suite and is expected to host gatherings for the Texas Education Agency Region IV, Leadership of East Texas, Lead Forward (an educational consulting company that helps districts with data and testing), and training seminars for teachers.