At a special dinner held at the Whitesboro Middle School cafeteria on Feb. 20, Whitesboro ISD Superintendent Ryan Harper presented updates and design renderings to an audience of Horizon Team members and their families.
The Horizon Team was a group formed in the early stages of bond project planning. It consisted of community members, school staff and business owners.
“Without you leading the charge, a $118 million bond would have been unheard of,” Harper said. “Seeing this bond pass shows that the community is behind the schools.”
In his presentation, Harper reviewed an aerial map depicting where new roads would be added. Among other additions, there are plans to create more streets around the high school to provide multiple ways to access the school and the new Early Childhood Center.
Harper also reviewed building locations on the map, showing other planned land use around the city. There is a 50-acre plot of land not currently part of the city of Whitesboro, so the school is working with the city to see if it could be annexed.
In his presentation, Harper touched on ways the district is looking to save on costs. For instance, the proposed new roads would cost $19 million in concrete, so the district is exploring other cost-effective options. Also, with the construction of the new Ag Building, there is talk of repurposing the current barn into a bus barn or doubling as a maintenance warehouse, or even leveling it for parking or a locker room.
The superintendent also handed out paperback books filled with design renderings and schematics for each of the bond projects planned for construction. Anyone can go by his office at Hayes Primary School during operating hours and ask to see the book.
“The projects we’re working on will serve the kids long past most of us,” he said.
Harper played a two-and-a-half minute video highlighting the major projects included in the bond package, and the video was released to the public on social media the following day.
WISD’s $118 million bond package passed in the 2024 election. Depending on weather and steel pricing, the district expects a bid date of April 1; sub selection on April 14; groundbreaking in late April or early May; and hopeful grand openings of Phase 1 (ECC, Multipurpose Activity Center, Agricultural Center) and Phase 2 (Auditorium and CTE) in fall/spring 2026/2027.
To learn more about the bond projects, visit www.youtu.be/Znh3Xs2JeCk or visit www.whitesboroisd.org and click on “2024 Bond Construction” for construction documents (coming soon) and more.
