FPC Presents Recommendations to GISD School Board

Seven months of research, tours and facility assessments culminated in a list of recommendations to the Graham ISD School Board on Wednesday evening. Citizen Co-Chairs Courtney Bennett and Matt Rader presented the recommendations on behalf of the 50+ members of Graham ISD’s Facility Planning Committee (FPC).

The FPC is made up of students, educators, parents, community leaders and taxpayers from across the community. The group has been meeting since last November to develop a Long-Range Facility Plan for GISD. This five-year plan will be presented to the School Board at their August 5 meeting, and eventually voted on by Trustees at their August 11 regular monthly meeting.

Policy CS (Legal) requires all public school districts to involve students, educators, parents and community stakeholders in developing a Long-Range Facility Plan. Committee members say it has been 18 years since local voters approved bond funds for capital improvements and new construction. 

Many of GISD buildings have systems that are beyond their current life cycles. The most urgent and significant needs are at the district’s oldest campuses, Crestview and Woodland Elementary Schools. Projects identified and prioritized by the committee focus on safety and security issues like drainage, lighting, fencing, security vestibules and connectivity between buildings for students traveling to classes.

The recommendations shared Wednesday include:

• Prioritize Safety & Security projects and ADA accessibility needs districtwide. This includes fencing, lighting, drainage, building connectivity, security vestibules, surveillance cameras, etc.

• Consolidate three elementary campuses into two to address critical maintenance issues, provide a more consistent learning experience and reduce transitions for young students, and decrease annual operating costs. This will allow GISD to use operating funds to recruit, retain and reward the highest quality teachers rather than using the day-to-day budget to pay for facility repairs.

• Call a school bond election as soon as the Board of Trustees and Administration believe it is in the best interest of Graham students and local taxpayers to vote on proposed projects. The community needs to be educated, but the longer GISD waits, the more expensive these projects will become. Expediency will help avoid higher construction costs and greater inflationary impacts to taxpayers. November 2026 is the earliest possible date; the next option is May 2027. 

• Minimize to the extent possible the financial impact and debt repayment on the local taxpayer. The committee recognizes that not all projects can be completed with one bond election if we are also minimizing the impact to local taxpayers.

• Include an ongoing, written Maintenance Plan for aging facilities and systems.

• Create an ongoing, written Technology Device Refresh Plan to protect and maintain the district’s investment in student and staff technology.

• Provide equitable facilities across the high school/middle school and student programs.

• Concentrate on MUST DO/NEED TO DO projects on the FPC priority list.

• Survey the Graham ISD community as soon as possible about priority projects and recommendations made by the Facility Planning Committee.

• Review, edit and approve the proposed Five-year Long-Range Facility Plan for Graham ISD (in August).

Projects on the FPC’s “MUST DO” list include:

• Combine Crestview and Woodland and build a new elementary school (Grades 1-5) for an estimated $53 million (includes inflationary escalation), saving $640,000 minimum annually in operating costs and reducing the number of building transitions for the district’s youngest learners. Crestview and Woodland are beyond their reasonable renovation period and costs to repair these are estimated at $69.3 million. The cost to replace Woodland alone is $43 million (includes inflationary escalation). 

• Meet Accessibility (ADA) compliance at all academic facilities, as well as on school playgrounds

• Ensure that all fire suppression and electrical systems are sufficient for service

• Add perimeter fencing/gates, especially at Pioneer Elementary

• Secure doors/windows across the district

• Create security/entrance vestibules at every campus

• Ensure student/faculty restrooms are available and operating across campuses

• Upgrade CTE equipment for ag mechanics, welding and culinary arts

• Update SPED classrooms at Pioneer Elementary and Graham Junior High School

• Improve campus-wide drainage at Graham Junior High School

• Address drainage and flooding of walkways between buildings at Graham High School, as well as security/connectivity of students passing between buildings

• Provide handicap parking at Pioneer Elementary

• Provide equitable dressing and locker room facilities for tennis, soccer and visiting teams. Consider building soccer locker rooms on the visitor side of Newton Field so that it could also be used for a visitor locker room.

• Address indoor/outdoor lighting at all facilities

• Add additional security cameras for playgrounds, parking lots and the ag project center

• Connect Band Hall to Graham Junior High building with an enclosed walkway

• Address functionality, proximity of SPED, PLTW, and Ag Wing at Graham Junior High

• Upgrade AV, Lighting and Audio in Auditorium at Graham High School

• Provide compliant storm shelters at each campus

• Work toward seat belt compliance on all school buses

• Schedule replacement/addition/movement of Chromebook laptops

Projects on the “NEED TO DO” FPC list include:

• Expand/reconfigure the parent drop-off/pick-up areas

• Expand CTE spaces

• Replace HVAC at Pioneer Elementary

• Provide functioning science labs at Graham Junior High and Graham High Schools

• Upgrade and expand the art room at Graham High School 

• Create a dedicated athletic track/field (lighting/drainage) for Graham Junior High

• Improve modernization and functionality of Graham Junior High cafeteria

• Update the maintenance fleet 

• Reconfigure the GJHS office area

• Relocate fleet parking lot to area with more space to reduce traffic around GJHS

• Begin replacement of Promethean/Smart Boards and ensure every instructional classroom has access to these teaching aids.

• Ensure all campus large group meeting rooms have access to a projector/computer/audio set-ups for faculty/parent meetings and events.

Related, But Not Facility Recommendations:

• Provide the teacher training that goes with upgraded instructional technology.

• Contract with a Cyber-Security Expert and/or provide staff training to address the protection of student data.

To view the recommendation slide presentation, visit the dedicated Facility Planning Committee webpage.