Dickinson ISD (DISD) is proposing a $94.2 million bond referendum for a November 3 general election for construction of new schools and additions and renovations to existing facilities.
If voters pass the bond election, the district will build a new $73.7 million junior high school with a capacity of 1,200 sixth- through eighth-grade students. The campus will be on 36 acres of district-owned land near the Cobblestone development.
The district would spend $11.6 million to expand the driver’s room, lunch room, offices, and support spaces and renovate existing space. DISD would add six new service bays, parking, and lighting. It would relocate bus wash equipment and build a new bus entrance, fueling station, and two portable buildings.
Nearly $3.2 million in Agricultural Center additions would provide 6,000 additional square feet to house cattle and lamb pens and an arena. DISD would install a 10-foot wide permeable grid system, expand concrete parking for vehicles and trailers, and add a new 1,000-square-foot Ag Shop and support spaces.
The Hughes Road Elementary School parking lot replacement project would get $2 million to address drainage and subsidence issues by demolishing current parking lots and replacing the underground storm drainage system. New parking lots drives and bus loops would be built.
The bond would provide $1.5 million for minor renovations at DISD’s technology center and the construction of an addition to the existing warehouse for more cubicles and storage. A new conference room and additional support spaces would be built at the existing Technology Cottage.
Another $1.5 million would go toward districtwide security improvements for all campus vestibules. DISD would renovate front entrances to route visitors to check in at secure transaction windows before entering the main school building. Ballistic window film would be added to all front entrance areas.
Why is this needed?
The Dickinson ISD Facility Task Force considered different scenarios, and the option the group believes will work best for future growth and allow the district to develop a plan to implement full-day pre-kindergarten is to build a third junior high school and realign the grade configurations at the elementary, middle school and junior high levels. If the bond is approved, the district will realign the grade levels when the new junior high opens to have grades Pre-K to grade 3 in elementary school, grades 4-5 in middle school and grades 6-8 in junior high.
The additions and renovations at the Transportation Center, Technology Center, and Agriculture Center are related to student enrollment growth. The cinder running track at McAdams Junior High would be replaced with asphalt similar to the track at Kranz Junior High. The parking lot at Hughes Road Elementary has major subsidence and drainage issues. Parking lot flooding is a major concern at this campus.
Security improvements are recommended for all campus vestibules. Front entrances would be renovated so that visitors do not directly enter the school’s front office. Instead, they would check-in with a receptionist at a secure transaction window before entering the main school building. In addition, ballistic window film would be added to all front entrance areas. Lobit Education Village and Kranz Junior High have large classroom windows on all interior walls. Safety upgrades at these campuses would provide manual operated opaque window shades for all interior classroom windows.
