Note: This is an overview of some of the items on the March workshop and meeting agendas. This recap does not include every item on the agenda. Official meeting minutes will be made available on www.csisd.org following approval at the April board meeting. A video and audio recording of the meeting will be made available within seven business days of the meeting at csisd.org.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The College Station ISD Board of Trustees met Tuesday, March 21. The following discussions and actions are of note.
WORKSHOP
Receive an update related to 2021 bond projects: Executive Director of Facilities Jon Hall gave an update on projects related to the 2021 bond package.
As of February 28, 2023, a total of $22,335,782 has been spent and an additional $13,101,525 is committed for upcoming projects. The total amount approved by voters was $78,125,000, leaving a balance of $42,687,693 for future planned projects and purchases.
The projects below were discussed:
- Transportation
- 14 buses were ordered on February 18, 2022, and seven additional buses were ordered on September 22, 2022. (only nine of the 21 have been received due to a nationwide shortage)
- Southwood Valley Elementary
- Phase 1 was completed in August 2022 and included relocation of the principal’s office suite and new security vestibule, relocation and renovation of kindergarten classrooms and breakout rooms, and new exterior elevation with new windows and masonry at the front of the building.
- Phase 2 is scheduled for summer 2023 and includes renovations to the rest of the campus, including refreshing finishes such as carpet, hard flooring, paint, restrooms, doors and cabinets. Also, the library and cafetorium will be renovated to be more efficient.
- Safety Improvements
- Phase 1 includes the additional hardening of security vestibules at all elementary and intermediate campuses in the summer of 2023, which will improve the ability to control and limit access to the school as needed.
- Phase 2 will include the further hardening of the security vestibules at the middle and high schools.
- A&M Consolidated High School
- This project is the largest in the 2021 bond package and will be broken up into at least 4 phases in the summers of 2022 through 2025.
- Focus will be on refreshing interior finishes such as carpet, hard flooring, paint, restrooms, doors and cabinets for classrooms and public areas.
- Fine arts areas, including the auditorium, will be renovated.
Science labs will be upgraded for safety and mechanical/electrical/plumbing improvements.
- Phase 1, which included restroom renovations for approximately half the restrooms in the main campus building, took place in the summer of 2022.
- Pebble Creek Elementary
- Renovations are scheduled for the summer of 2023 and will include refreshing some interior finishes and the repurposing of the former administrative offices.
- Career and Technical Education Center - Phase 1
- Phase 1 is a new structure primarily for animal housing, practice show arena, and an office/classroom/concessions.
The site is being master-planned for future growth and will be located on the 90-acre Fry Tract on South Dowling Road.
The project Guaranteed Maximum Price is scheduled to be brought to the board for consideration in April 2023.
- Other Career & Technical Education Projects
- Metal canopies were installed in the summer of 2022 outside of the CTE areas at both A&M Consolidated and College Station High Schools to increase covered work areas.
- Fencing and wind screens to enclose and provide protection are complete at AMCHS and ongoing at CSHS.
- Natatorium Renovations
- Boiler replacement was completed in August 2022.
- Renovations will include tile, paint, plaster replacement of the main pool area and offices and locker room spaces.
The structural steel will be reworked to correct corrosion issues.
- Other Future Projects
- Renovations at Cypress Grove in the summer 2024
- HVAC unit repair/replacement at various campuses across the district
- AMCHS roofing repair
Discussion related to the 2023-24 budget development process: Chief Financial Officer Amy Drozd provided preliminary information for the development of the 2023-24 budget, with the understanding that 2023 is a legislative year, and there is associated uncertainty about changes to the school funding system at this time.
Preliminary assumptions include an enrollment increase between one and 1.6 percent, a likely continued increase in property values, and the total property tax rate will continue to decline due to required tax rate compression with or without new legislation.
The final budget will be adopted in August, and there will be additional information provided each month during the workshop sessions.
MEETING
Approval of the long-range facilities and bond planning committee membership: The board approved the 48-member Long Range Facilities and Bond Planning Committee.
Last month, the board chartered the committee following the completion of the comprehensive facilities assessment
The purpose of the 2023 Long Range Facilities and Bond Planning Committee is to review and prioritize the district’s facility needs and consider future bond referendums to support areas including, but not limited to: facilities, renovations, deferred maintenance, buses, athletics, fine arts, career and technical education, land acquisition, technology, and other capital needs.
The committee will meet at least six times total in March, April, and May to review the needs of the district’s facilities and bonding capacity. The committee is expected to recommend projects for a potential bond to the Board of Trustees in June 2023.
Please visit the CSISD Long Range Facilities Planning website for more information: LINK: Long Range Facilities Planning website
Purchases/Bid Approvals:
- Approved the purchase of furniture for Southwood Valley and Pebble Creek from Educators Depot in the amount of $360,831.22 using 2021 bond funds.
- Approved the contract for customized programming for GPA and class ranking calculations with PowerSchool in the amount of $64,499.90 using $12,899.90 from the general fund and $51,600 using ESSER III funds.
- Authorized the superintendent to enter into final negotiations with Rava Construction for renovations to Pebble Creek Elementary in the amount of $3,095,000 using 2021 bond funds.
- Authorized the superintendent to enter into final negotiations with Rava Construction for Phase 2 renovations to A&M Consolidated High School in the amount of $5,060,000 using 2021 bond funds.
- Approved a contract to renovate the district’s natatorium to Marek Brothers Construction, Inc., in the amount of $2,100,000 utilizing 2021 bond funds.
- Authorized the superintendent to enter into final negotiations with MBCM Management, Inc., for upgrades to the College Station High School baseball/softball batting cages in the amount of $180,800 using $107,070 from the Cougar Booster Club and $73,730 from 2015 bond funds.
Superintendent Mike Martindale announces plan to retire: Superintendent Mike Martindale announced his plan to retire, effective June 30, 2023.
“I am forever grateful for all of the colleagues I have been able to share this wonderful profession with over the last three decades,” Martindale said. “I want to specifically thank those in College Station ISD that welcomed me and my family to the community in July of 2007. After 32 years in public education, it is time for me to enter the next stage of my life.”
Martindale came to CSISD in 2007 as the Principal of Rock Prairie Elementary. He was the first principal of College Station High School and was hired as CFO and Deputy Superintendent in January 2016, before being named superintendent on April 21, 2020.
He led the district through a strategic planning process in 2021 and the community approved more than $78 million in bonds for renovations and technology. In addition, the voters of CSISD approved a Tax Ratification Election in November 2022 to substantially increase teacher and staff pay.
Martindale was named superintendent just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning. His leadership efforts during this time resulted in CSISD schools being one of the largest districts in Texas to open its doors for in-person learning in August of 2019, while also providing a viable online option for those who were not comfortable attending.
Martindale and his wife Alicia, who is a Spanish teacher at College Station High School, have two children. His daughter Ava is a senior at College Station High School and will be attending the University Texas-El Paso on a volleyball scholarship and his son Cooper is a sophomore.
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