Creating tomorrow's experts: Bonds reshape athletics and workforce education in Bryan, College Station ISDs

Bryan and College Station ISDs are investing in facilities designed to give students more room to grow and opportunities in classrooms, career programs and extracurricular activities.

While the districts' bond packages differ in size and scope, both districts have made career and technical education and athletics major parts of their recent investments, with administrators saying the projects are ultimately about giving students more opportunities to succeed.

The big picture

Bryan ISD voters approved a $397 million bond package in 2025, divided among three propositions:

• $325.5 million for safety, maintenance, new construction, renovations, fine arts and career and technology
• $67.4 million for athletics
• $4.1 million for technology

College Station ISD followed its own path earlier. Voters approved a $299.1 million bond package in 2023, with the majority allocated toward safety, maintenance, renovations, land and an all-new career and technology center, as well as $14.1 million earmarked for technology. Two athletic propositions failed by small margins at that time.

The district brought athletics back to voters in 2024 as a separate $53.5 million bond:

• $40.2 million for field house and football stadiums
• $13.3 million for ball fields

Now, College Station ISD’s projects are nearing completion and Bryan ISD’s are moving through early phases of the construction process.

Sorting out the details

Superintendent Ginger Carrabine said the district has not scaled back or reprioritized the projects since the election, “We are full steam ahead.”

The bond priorities came out of a community-driven process that included parents, students, teachers, administrators and other stakeholders. A bond steering committee then examined facility conditions, equipment, enrollment projections and other needs before recommending the package to trustees.

Among the largest projects are a new Bryan Collegiate High School, improvements to the Merrill Green Stadium field house and scoreboard, a third gym at Rudder High School, athletic field improvements, auditorium work and extensive maintenance.

Bryan ISD is taking a phased approach to selling the bonds rather than borrowing the full $397 million immediately. The district authorized the sale of its first series Aug. 10, with additional bond sales planned:

• 2026: $190.1 million
• 2027: $90.6 million
• 2029: $66 million
• 2031: $50.3 million

Carrabine said the district is currently focused on programming, schematic design and other work that must happen before construction begins. Students and staff are participating in planning meetings with architects, including discussions about what they want to see in the new Bryan Collegiate campus.

Assistant Superintendent Brian Merrell said the district is working to schedule around athletic seasons to minimize disruptions but student athletes will likely be without a field house for one season.

Bryan ISD Board President Joel Bryan said the bond represents an investment in facilities that have not always kept pace with the district’s needs.

“Many of our programs are operating in undersized spaces, portable buildings or facilities constructed more than 50 years ago,” he said in a statement to Community Impact.

The projects, Bryan said, will provide modern learning environments while giving athletic and extracurricular programs room to grow.

In the classroom

Bryan ISD offers CTE pathways ranging from agriculture and construction to health science, information technology, manufacturing and human services. Other programs include:

• Welding
• Automotive technology
• Robotics and automation
• Biomedical science
• Nursing science
• Cosmetology and barbering
• Culinary arts
• Law enforcement and JROTC

Carrabine described the CTE program as one of its strongest areas.

The district’s CTE offerings are designed to prepare students both for college and the workforce, with an emphasis on industry-recognized credentials.

The district also told Community Impact 97.5% of its students have taken a CTE course, while 1,142 students earned industry certifications in 2025.

Carrabine said the district works with local employers to make sure students are learning on equipment and in environments that reflect the workforce.

Electricians, plumbers, specialized construction workers and other industry professionals work with the students. The superintendent said these partners have emphasized the importance of work ethic, teamwork and responsibility to the students.

Bryan’s CTE complex on Mumford Road came around in 2019 as a way to make room for the students and programs, but courses have been offered at BISD for decades, district officials said.

Students can travel to the complex for courses while remaining enrolled at their home campuses and participating in athletics, fine arts and other activities.

The district also has expanded the facility’s role into workforce development, including training opportunities for adults.

Carrabine and CFO Norma Friddle said CTE will remain a priority even with budget pressures.

“We believe in career and technical education for all students,” Carrabine said.

In an April conversation, Friddle told Community Impact, “We choose to keep [these programs] because our kids deserve it.”

The other side

Bryan ISD’s athletic projects are similarly tied to both aging facilities and increased demand.

The Merrill Green Stadium field house was built for a smaller district and now serves athletes from both Bryan and Rudder high schools, as well as middle school events and the occasional community activity.

Rudder itself was originally designed as a 3A high school and has since grown into a 5A campus, Carrabine said.

That growth is part of the reason the bond includes a third gym at Rudder.

Bryan High School also will receive an additional auditorium because its existing facility does not meet UIL requirements for certain events.

Carrabine said the athletics department is looking forward to upgrading baseball and softball fields with turf, which will reduce weather-related cancellations and improve athlete safety.

Bryan said the bond gives the district an opportunity to address those needs while improving facilities for students across the district.

“Our students, families and community deserve excellent facilities,” he said. “Most importantly, it gives us the opportunity to create environments that support and inspire our students today and for generations to come.”

Measuring the impact

College Station ISD’s bond work is further along.

Approved by voters in 2023 and 2024, most projects are close to being finished.

College Station High School’s stadium work is wrapping up, while Consolidated High School’s stadium was scheduled for substantial completion around Aug. 28, with its first home football game expected in mid-to-late September.

District officials said the projects have generally remained on time and under budget, even as the district added work that was not included in the original scope.

At College Station High School, for example, CFO Heather Wilson and Superintendent Tim Harkrider said the district remodeled the press box beyond the originally planned drainage work. At Consol, the district replaced the grandstands, added improvements to the field house and completed other campus upgrades. The district also was able to add visitor bleachers at A&M Consolidated Middle School.

As of the district’s latest figures, about $50.5 million of the $53.5 million athletics budget had been spent or obligated.

College Station ISD Board President Kim Ege said the district’s ability to stay within budget and schedule is important to the community that approved the bonds.

“These projects have been done on time or in some cases ahead of their original timeline, while also being delivered in budget,” Ege said in a statement.

Zooming in

The original 2023 bond called for an expansion of the agriculture center, food science and veterinary technology labs, flexible classrooms, lighting and parking.

The resulting Phase II project grew substantially and now includes facilities for ag mechanics, animal science, automotive technology, construction, veterinary technology and welding.

The CTE project has a contract value of about $27.2 million and was approximately 96% complete in the district’s latest update to Community Impact.

The district reported 3,009 students participating in CTE in 2025, compared with 2,514 in 2020.

Cosmetology is a new offering for College Station ISD in the 2026-27 school year. The district also is expanding automotive and welding opportunities, while adding veterinary technology and agriculture-related instruction.

What’s new?

The district’s approximately 90-acre property provides space for wildlife and agriculture programs, including hands-on learning.

Students will travel from the district’s high schools to the CTE center by bus and return to their campuses after their courses.

Harkrider said the goal is to give students more than one definition of success.

“We want our kids when they graduate high school, we want them to go to college, We want them to have a certification in the CTE world, or we want them to go to the military, or you can check multiple boxes. But we do want them to be successful,” Harkrider said.

He said students can become more engaged when they see a direct connection between what they are learning and a potential career.

Ege said those opportunities are part of the broader purpose behind the bond.

“The new CTE opportunities are going to open up doors for students to learn more trades and explore options we have not been able to provide before,” she said.

The athletics projects serve a similar purpose, she said, providing places for students to participate while supporting activities beyond traditional sports.

Going forward

For both districts, the bond projects represent more than construction.

Bryan ISD is using its $397 million program to address aging facilities while expanding capacity in CTE, athletics, fine arts and academics.

College Station ISD is putting the finishing touches on major CTE and athletics projects that administrators say will give students more choices and allow the district to better serve its growing and changing student population.

And for the board leaders who helped oversee the bonds, the ultimate measure of the investment will not simply be whether projects finish on time or under budget. It will be what students are able to do inside the new spaces.

Ege said the community invested in buildings, but also in the students, staff and families who will use them.

Bryan said the same is true at BISD.

“These projects will provide modern learning environments, improve our athletic and extracurricular facilities, and create room for our programs to grow,” he said.

For both districts, that means giving students more ways to find a pathway, whether that leads to a university, a trade, the military, a career or some combination of all three.