Members of the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD bond advisory committee updated trustees on projects that are included in their 2024 bond proposal at the regular board meeting Dec. 11.

The backstory

According to district documents, trustees initiated the process to examine the district’s long-range facility and other capital needs more than a year ago. Bond programs are typically undertaken to make capital improvements to support educational and extracurricular programs that benefit students and business operations. They are also used to maintain vital school district facilities and property, equipment, technology infrastructure, and student and staff devices and tools.

District documents state that after utilizing the long-range planning process, the district initiated the BAC process Aug. 17 and charged the committee, which is composed of 32 members, to consider the most critical and fundamental requirements of GCISD.

The details


After having nine meetings so far, the committee’s Dec. 11 update included the following findings:
  • 40-plus facilities are in the district that represent more than 3.2 million square feet of property to maintain.
  • 89% of schools are more than 20 years old.
  • Five schools are more than 40 years old.
  • The average age of GCISD schools is 34 years.
During his portion of the presentation, committee member George Dodson noted the following priority projects:
  • $68.5 million to repair deficiencies involving facility roofs, HVAC systems, electrical, sewer lines, etc.
  • $27.8 million for technology upgrades
  • $23.8 million for safety and security improvements
  • $3.5 million for bus and fleet replacements and transportation improvements
  • $5.5 million for swim center equipment replacements and upgrades
  • $5.7 million for career and technical education improvements
  • $8.2 million for allowances such as equipment for grounds and custodial and assistive technology
  • $2.1 million for campus athletics maintenance and improvements
Dodson said that due to state law, certain bond elements must be listed on the ballot as separate propositions. Therefore, based upon the BAC recommendations, the ballot might include the following propositions:
  • $133 million—Proposition A: Secure, renovate and equip school buildings, purchase buses and technology infrastructure
  • $11.3 million—Proposition B: Instructional technology
  • $5.5 million—Proposition C: Swim center equipment replacements and upgrades
Quote of note

Chief Operations Officer Paula Barbaroux reminded the board that this was an update from the BAC and they still must finalize their work.

“They finished putting together $145.8 million and the target is $150 million,” Barbaroux said. “They’re in the wrestling phase of putting together the last items that everybody wants but you can’t necessarily afford.”

Barbaroux said that the committee will bring its final recommendation to the board at the next regular meeting Jan. 22.