Huckabee | Architecture | Engineering | Management

The Longview ISD Board of Trustees approved construction timelines for bond projects during their regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 21.  view article arw

Liberty Hill ISD is weeks away from opening a new space for special education students ages 18-22. The new facility will help accommodate growing enrollment in the Accessing Community through Career Environments for Student Success, or ACCESS, program, which has more than doubled in recent school years, district officials said at an Oct. 21 board of trustees meeting. The big picture: In November, students in the ACCESS 18-plus program will begin transitioning into a 13,359-square-foot building behind the district’s administration building. LHISD renovated the preexisting space using $5 million in 2023 bond funds. view article arw

Local residents are urging their neighbors to “Vote No” on ballot propositions being pushed by Rockwall Independent School District that would result in big property tax increases. view article arw

Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura revealed what percent of the district's staff will get a pay raise if voters approve Proposition A. Under the ballot measure, property taxes would rise $34 a month for the typical Austin ISD homeowner who has an estimated home value of $553,493. The tax increase would not affect homeowners with an over-65 exemption. view article arw

Fort Bend ISD is shelving plans for a new elementary school that was supposed to be funded by a bond taxpayers voted for. After much discussion, the board ultimately decided that even though building the new school was part of last year's bond, they just don't have the money for it. The new elementary school was supposed to be built in the Harvest Green area of Richmond. view article arw

A $110,000 check to the Taylor Independent School District from Samsung Austin Semiconductor is the latest incentive from the global company to enhance local high-tech training for future careers. The money will be invested in the school district’s career and technical education program and aid the district in “developing the semiconductor talent pipeline,” according to officials. In other business, trustees also began considering how to boost wireless signal strength across the district. view article arw

Several Houston religious leaders and community members urged voters Thursday to cast their ballots against Houston ISD’s controversial $4.4 billion school bond proposal in the upcoming November election.   During a news conference at Trinity United Methodist Church, leaders of The Metropolitan Organization, an association of Houston churches, said they were opposing an HISD bond for the first time in the group’s 44-year history due largely to the lack of trust and “meaningful input from community members” in developing the measure.  view article arw

With little data available regarding why employees were quitting their jobs in Houston ISD, a parent decided to do her own digging.  HISD parent Becky Seabrook said she observed a mismatch between what parents were experiencing, and the district reporting that the vast majority of teachers marked that they planned to return next academic year on its Intent to Return Survey. She also felt a disconnect between community conversations and the administration claiming that the educators leaving were not quality teachers. view article arw

As early voting begins for the November general election, a group of Houston Democratic politicians said Monday that they're urging potential voters to reject Houston ISD’s $4.4 billion school bond. In a brief press conference outside the West Gray Recreation Center, four Houston Democrats said HISD voters should say no to the district’s first school bond in 12 years largely due to a lack of trust in state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles and the HISD Board of Managers, as well as concerns over future transparency, accountability and oversight of the measure. view article arw

Frisco school officials want voters to approve more than $1 billion in bonds for a new middle school building, renovations and technology upgrades as well as a tax increase to pay for teacher raises and cover other budget gaps. The bond propositions — B, C and D — total would pay for improvements at 20 aging schools, bolster Frisco ISD’s technology infrastructure and build a $11.2 million tennis center. The bonds, if approved, would not result in a tax increase, according to the district. view article arw

Houston voters will decide on a $4.4 billion bond proposal from the Houston Independent School District in the November election. Voters on Nov. 5 will need to decide whether to approve or reject the bond proposal which is broken down into two separate propositions. Proposition A asks voters to approve the issuance of $3.96 billion in bonds, aimed at addressing critical needs in the district’s infrastructure. view article arw

Officials with the Manor Independent School District are celebrating the groundbreaking today of the new Early College High School. “This is a great day in Manor ISD,” said Dr. Andre D. Spencer, Manor ISD Superintendent. “We are breaking ground on a new building for a group of scholars who we expect to break ground academically in their respective fields of interest. We expect great things to come out of this facility and the scholars who will call this home.” view article arw

The Katy Independent School District Board of Trustees looked at demographics and plans for a possible May 2021 bond election at its Monday, Dec. 14, meeting. view article arw

Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'AAA' rating based on the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) guaranty and an 'AA+' underlying rating to the following Garland Independent School District, TX unlimited tax bonds (the bonds or ULTs): view article arw

Fitch Ratings has assigned an 'AAA' rating based on the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) guarantee and a 'AA+' underlying rating to the following unlimited tax (ULT) bonds for the Mesquite Independent School District (ISD), Texas: : view article arw

Students with Georgetown Independent School District are about to see a lot of changes. Voters approved a $150 million bond for the district in November 2018, and some upgrades have already been made as a result. In January, KVUE reported that crews finished installing new football and softball fields at East View High School in Georgetown. view article arw

Austin and Taylor elementary school students could find themselves stepping up if preliminary designs for their new schools become reality. Up some stairs, that is. Huckabee, a Fort Worth based architecture firm hired to create the two schools associated with the recently passed $138.7 million bond, created a two-story floor plan for Austin, on the southwest side of the city, and Taylor, in northeast Abilene. view article arw

After a majority of voters showed support for a $118.3 million bond package for New Braunfels ISD, the district will move forward with plans to build new schools, make facility renovations, increase security measures, upgrade technology, enhance transportation and expand athletic programs. “I mean it’s a significant percentage so first of all I’m really happy to see that that many people voted,” said NBISD Board President Sherry Harrison. “I’m very excited about that all by itself.” view article arw

Port Aransas schools are getting reimbursed for measures they took to get things up and running after Hurricane Harvey. The district on Monday announced it had received a grant for more than $1.2 million Federal Emergency Management Agency to help pay for things such as generators, air dryers, portables and security. Those items and more were needed in the aftermath of the Category 4 storm hit the area Aug. 25, 2017. view article arw

Georgetown ISD and a district-organized citizens advisory committee are using a phone survey to get community feedback regarding potential facility and equipment projects that could be included in a November 2018 bond election should district trustees vote to call one, according to a press release Monday. view article arw

On Monday night, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted to approve the modernization of Norman Elementary School in East Austin. Under the $1 billion bond passed by voters in November 2017, Austin ISD will rebuild the school as a state-of-the-art facility that would turn it into a "21st century learning environment," according to the district. view article arw

After Aledo ISD voters shot down a $72.9 million bond package Tuesday, the school board and administration said they will work to determine their next steps. According to unofficial election results, 71 percent of voters (2,454 votes) rejected a $64.1 million option to build a new middle school and renovate McAnally Intermediate School to use as an elementary school. Twenty-nine percent (1,020 votes) voted in favor of the option.

The Round Rock school board is focused today on the end of the school year. But it will need to regroup after all three of their school bond proposals were voted down on Saturday The district had half a billion dollars in projects riding on this vote. $572 million to be exact. view article arw

Floydada ISD officials are preparing for a bond election to fund renovations to their 62-year-old high school. A recent assessment determined that the school needs major renovations. The superintendent says voters will have the choice of whether to authorize the bond issue in May. "We're having several issues that we are having to repair throughout the school year from plumbing, to structural issues, to roofing issues, but, my biggest concern is just the security of the campus," says Gilbert Trevino, superintendent for Floydada ISD.

Waco Independent School District officials are trying to raise between $700,000 and $800,000 in private sponsorships from businesses, grants from foundations and donations from alumni and individuals to cover the cost of renovating and reopening Waco High School’s planetarium, which has been closed for more than 20 years, district spokesman Bruce Gietzen said. view article arw

Seguin High School is now home to what district officials are calling the largest scoreboard in the country. Recently, crews from Nevco worked to install the near 51-foot tall, 47-foot wide jumbotron in Matador Stadium, which was up and running Thursday night for the freshman game. view article arw

School is back in session for students around the Concho Valley, and at Christoval ISD, Monday also marked the ribbon-cutting for their brand new STEM Academy building. The new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math classrooms will allow for a greater diversity of hands-on classes. Dr. David Walker, the Superintendent at Christoval ISD says, "We want our students to be marketable and adaptable, as you know the world is changing at a fast rate and as things change we want our kids to have those skill-sets." view article arw

Four new schools will be opening this August just in time for the new school year. These additions to Frisco ISD will open its doors to 3,600 new students. The shining new schools launching for the 2016-17 school year will be Miller Elementary, Vaughn Elementary, Nelson Middle School and Lebanon Trail High School. With these additions, the total number of schools in Frisco ISD rises to 68 and the total student population increases from 49,644 to 53,301. view article arw

Students and supporters of South Oak Cliff High School could be a step closer to getting a new building. The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees is expected to weigh in on the issue for the first time in early April during a discussion about the 2015 bond program. Trustees could consider replacing the 1951 building or continue with plans to make less expensive improvements. view article arw

More than two months after a tornado hit Shields Elementary School in northern Ellis County on Dec. 26, Red Oak ISD confirmed Thursday that the original builder of the school, Ratcliff Constructors, has agreed to pay for the repairs. Fox 4's Lori Brown began investigating concerns about the quality of construction at the school  in Glenn Heights after an exterior wall collapsed in the tornado. view article arw

The denial of an alternative light mitigation plan for Dripping Springs ISD’s new baseball/softball complex put in to motion an inventory of outdoor lighting at all district facilities. On Oct. 13, the Dripping Springs City Council turned down the Dripping Springs ISD’s proposed lighting mitigation. view article arw

For nearly 15 years, the Arlington Independent School District has been searching for the right project to fill a piece of land it owns in the 3200 block of Pioneer Parkway. When voters approved a bond package in 2014, officials said they finally found a good one. "We want to make this a successful district facility that serves both the community and the students well," said Leslie Johnston, spokesperson for Arlington ISD. view article arw

Tyler ISD to build aquatics center

August 2708:05 AM
 

Tyler ISD trustees have set aside up to $4 million for construction of an aquatic center, which would include an uncovered outdoor, Olympic-size swimming pool that officials envision would serve all students, not just the swimming team. What to do about the existing, rapidly deteriorating, indoor swimming facility near the intersection of New Copeland Road and Shiloh Road has been a simmering issue in the community for many years. view article arw

The first indoor stadium to host high school football home games is halfway finished according to a joint release by the City of Frisco, Frisco ISD and the Dallas Cowboys. After construction broke ground 11 months ago, the 12,000-seat facility is scheduled to open by fall 2016. This is later than the last update of a potential opening in summer 2016. view article arw

Most students toward the end of the school year are caught up in a pre-summer wanderlust, almost detached from the classroom goings-on. One group of Conroe ISD students was busy thinking about how to get more space on campus for their group. view article arw