A collapsed roof, crushed vehicles and missing equipment.
This is what remains of the automotive technology section at the Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center due to the historic blizzard that hit Lubbock in December. However, this may not be the case for too much longer. Lubbock I.S.D is considering demolishing the section where the roof collapsed in order to rebuild it.
The L.I.S.D Board of Trustees will be voting on an “emergency demolition” of the damaged section of the ATC at its meeting 7 a.m. Thursday. An emergency demolition means that a bid process is not necessary for the work to commence. If demolition is decided, the rebuilding process of the damaged section would begin fairly soon after.
“They’ll start doing the demo probably fairly soon,” said Jill Berset, the L.I.S.D. Director of Career and Technical Education. “But it’ll take probably until December to get the whole thing done because it’s quite a big ordeal.”
If plans remain for the newly rebuilt section to be finished by December of this year, new students should be able to begin using the facility by the spring semester of next year.
Fortunately, no one was injured at the time of the roof collapse. However, the vehicles and various equipment that LISD students had been working on for months were all nearly lost or damaged when the blizzard hit.
While decisions are being made of what to do next, in the meantime, students and their instructors have been relocated to a temporary spot, Complete Auto Repair, where they can continue their work. The students are bussed to the rented out shop, where classes are conducted as they would be at the Byron Martin ATC.
“We’ve been in the classroom waiting,” said Michael Esparza, a junior at Lubbock High. “To be in the shop again is pretty nice.”
LISD says insurance will cover repair costs.
