When it comes to construction, Northside ISD is at the head of the class.

The San Antonio chapter of Associated General Contractors recently conducted a survey to evaluate performance in construction of eight public agencies in San Antonio.

Northside ISD was ranked No. 1 by more than 100 AGC members who responded to the survey. AGC membership includes local builders and contractors who are hired by NISD to construct and renovate school facilities.

The other agencies evaluated by the survey included: North East ISD, Judson ISD, Alamo Community Colleges, University of Texas System, City of San Antonio, Bexar County, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The AGC Report Card graded performance in the following categories: Safety, Payment, Relationships, Bid Documents, Scope Management, Bid Qualifications and Evaluation, Design Coordination and Management, and Insurance and Risk Requirements.

"It's a validation of the construction process we've been following for the past several years," said Jim Martin, Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations.

Not only is Northside the largest public school system in Bexar County, it is also the largest builder. NISD's building program dwarf's most municipalities as it aggressively opens hundreds of new classrooms each year, and make improvements at dozens more schools constantly. NISD grows by more than 3,000 new students annually and is the fourth largest public school system in Texas.

"NISD's building program is a terrific economic driver in Bexar County, providing through its contractors, hundreds of professional and trades jobs and the purchase of millions of dollars in raw materials," Martin said.

One of the reasons for Northside's success is the Board of Trustees stays informed and up-to-date on construction developments and makes sure the proper process is followed to the letter, Martin said.

"Everything we do is transparent and open to public scrutiny," Martin said. "We take our fiduciary responsibility extremely seriously because these are tax dollars we are dealing with.

"We also recognize the professionalism of the architects and contractors and all the sub contractors that we rely on," Martin added. "We have high expectations of them as they do of us."

Survey respondents were asked to rate an agency on each question using a grade scale of A (highest rating) to F (lowest rating). The ranking of the eight public agencies was determined by combining the highest percentages of A's and B's.

This is the first time AGC has conducted the survey, which was done "to recognize public owners who demonstrate principled commitment to positive achievement in the execution of their construction projects, and to help owners who seek to improve in the delivery of their projects to their public constituencies, for the most effective use of taxpayer dollars."

"This exercise was undertaken to help us help each other," said Fred Galvan of Zachry Construction Corp.

Altogether, the eight agencies evaluated represent $1.5 billion in construction spending over the last two years. Northside accounts for about $500 million in construction spending over the two-year period.

Currently, NISD has about a dozen new schools under construction, plus addition and renovation projects at existing schools.