Red Oak ISD School Board approves agreement with Ratcliff

RED OAK - The Red Oak ISD School Board voted 7-0 Monday night, passing a settlement agreement with Ratcliff Constructors which states that Ratcliff will pay the district more than $160,000 for wall repairs at Shields Elementary School.

That is the cost to bring all of the school's walls up to code.

"Ratcliff has worked with us, and now everything is done and the fix is put in," said Dr. Scott Niven, Superintendent of Red Oak ISD. "We feel the school is safe. We're excited we'll be moving back in next year."

A December 2015 tornado exposed questions about the quality of construction done at Shields Elementary School.

On December 26, when an EF-3 tornado hit in Glenn Heights, a wall fell over at Shields Elementary School. No children were in the school at the time.

Red Oak ISD then hired an independent engineer to assess the school's construction.

In January, the district's engineer found that Ratcliff Constructors did not follow design instructions and did not properly secure walls.

As part of the agreement, approved Monday night, Red Oak ISD agreed to hold Ratcliff Constructors harmless, meaning the district cannot sue.

The superintendent is also in talks with an inspector, contracted by the City of Glenn Heights, who signed off on the construction of Red Oak ISD, despite their findings of improperly-fastened walls.

The district hopes to have an agreement with the inspector in a couple of weeks.

Here is the full documentation of the agreement with Ratcliff, provided by Red Oak ISD:

Estimated Cost for Cold Formed Metal Framing Remediation

A FOX 4 Investigation identified 65 schools in North Texas built or renovated by Ratcliff Constructors. You can see the full investigation here.