Making The Grade: Rebuild or restore aging schools? A look at three different scenarios in Central Texas

(KWTX) - Some may say a building is just a building, but for local school districts that may not always be the case.

Central Texas schools often have to decide when and how to renovate, or build new.

Buckholts ISD was begging for the public to pass an $11-million bond as the campus that houses all the district’s students had major infrastructure issues, plumbing problems, mold and water spots, and overall decay.

Earlier this year, the school district posted a video on its Facebook page revealing the deteriorating conditions its schools are in.

District taxpayers, however, did not answer the call and rejected the bond proposal.

“We are fearing that we may have to at least close down part of buildings and have to move students and staff to other buildings until things get renovated. That is the worst case scenario, but we are hopeful that these things are fixable,” Buckholts Superintendent Remy Godfrey said.

On the contrast, a much bigger school district in Temple successfully passed a bond recently and its administrators are grateful for the support because they understand asking for taxpayer help is never easy.

“We want to make sure that when the time comes to ask for it, that one we’re asking for what’s necessary, we don’t go out and ask for things that are that are fluffy or extra. We ask for what’s necessary,” Temple ISD Assistant Superintendent Kent Boyd said.

In May 2022, taxpayers in Temple passed a bond totaling just under $165 million as the district prepares for growth and looks to enhance older buildings.

Boyd said one example is Wheatley Alternative School, built in 1950. The school is being transformed while students are actively in class. During a tour, he said a building like this with good bones was a prime candidate to get a facelift instead of being rebuilt, but this type of project comes with challenges.

“There’s asbestos that was that was existing, so you have to remediate that. and in this case, we had to come in and and remove the asbestos materials before they were ever to start, ever able to start construction,” Boyd said

Another busy district is Waco ISD, where district leaders are working on an expansive $355-million bond project.

For a district like Waco ISD, small improvements can be made each year, but big ticket items like new school buildings such as Tennyson Middle School, require funding via a voter-approved bond.

When an entirely new campus is not feasible, the district instead expands and enhances existing infrastructure, which is what the district is doing at South Waco Elementary School.

Work on the $24-million project at South Waco will expand and transform the older school building in phases while students still attend class. The project is part of a much bigger plan.

“It’s kind of a critical view to have, the big picture, because we have to finish all of the projects, not just, you know, we don’t think of them as one at a time. We have to think of moving them all forward and making sure we deliver on all of them for the stakeholders, " said Waco ISD Chief Operations Officer Gloria Barrera.

Barrera took KWTX on a stroll through one of the hallways at South Waco to describe her excitement in what is about to be transformed, as the decision was made to give the school a facelift to help better serve students and reach goals.

“When you walk from the new into the existing building, you will see it will all be consistent in new colors and all of that. So it will look a lot more refreshed everywhere,” Barrera said.

Back at Buckholts, the mood is not as joyful.

Godfrey said the only option could be to once again ask voters to approve a bond. She knows the district has to go “back to the drawing board.”

“This is just an issue that we have to face. We have to peel the curtain back, and we have to allow people to see it every day. Our kids see it, so why can’t the public see it?” Godfrey asked.

Godfrey said she believes the 115 student facility has had some lack of maintenance in the past and the district has had to apply what she calls “band-aids” and there is concern about the future of the school district’s campuses.

She remains optimistic, however, and says she wants to preserve her community’s schools.

“When a school is no longer in the community, the community quickly dies. And we want to make sure that we preserve that here for Buckholts,” Godfrey said.

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