Two Preston Hollow schools are among the first to reap benefits from a $1.37 billion bond package approved by Dallas voters three years ago.

 

Franklin Middle School and Kramer Elementary School both underwent major renovations, added classrooms and received state-of-the-art upgrades.

 

“It’s just exciting,” Franklin principal Ronald Jones says. “The students will benefit from the added technological advancements, and it gives the teachers the tools they need to do their job.”

 

Kramer principal Kyle Richardson says voters did a service to students by approving the district-wide plan, which called for 22 new schools and improvements to all existing campuses.

 

“The way that this bond package is turning out, it’s just an incredibly smart move by the citizens of Dallas ,” he says. “From my seat, the money has been spent very intelligently. There’s no fluff involved. Everything was the meat of the matter.”

 

Kramer’s four new kindergarten classrooms are complete, but construction continues on the school’s renovation projects. The building is receiving upgrades to its mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems as well as a new roof and windows.

 

“This is going to make our school much nicer,” Richardson says. “They are taking a 1955 building and making it good for the next 50 years.”

 

Crews recently completed the major overhauls at Franklin . The school’s two-story addition houses 20 classrooms, a teacher’s lounge, vice principal’s office, bookroom, two maintenance rooms and two sets of restrooms.

 

Parent Heather Dickie, who also substitute teaches at Franklin , says the rooms are well-equipped and added much-needed space.

 

“The teachers I’ve spoken with are so excited,” she says.

 

The expansion means the school no longer needs portable classrooms and all students can attend classes in the same building, Jones says.

 

“It cuts down on the movement for the students and brings everyone into a central location,” he says.

 

Renovations to the building included electrical improvements, replacing the heating system, installing a fire sprinkler system and removing asbestos. Follow-up projects call for redesigning and upgrading the locker rooms and replacing the auditorium’s lighting and sound systems.

 

Every classroom will have a data projector and wireless Internet access with the ability to connect 12 computers per room, Jones says.

 

“That’s something I’m very excited about,” he says. “We don’t have 12 computers in each room yet, but at least we’ll have the capability