The Bryan ISD board of trustees is expected to vote on awarding contracts for 2025 bond projects to architectural and engineering firms during the board’s March meeting so the district can begin the design phase on a number of bond projects, Deputy Superintendent Brian Merrell said in an interview.
The district is in the middle of negotiations with the selected pool of seven architectural and two engineering firms, he said.
Long story short
Bryan ISD’s $397 million bond package was passed by voters in November, and the first portion of the bond funds—totaling $290 million—will be issued to the district in August, Director of Construction Services Bobby Griffin said during a presentation to the board Nov. 17. While funds are not yet available for projects to begin, the district is working to select professional firms, prioritize bond projects and begin design so projects can hit the ground running when money is available, Griffin said.
Voters approved all three propositions on the November ballot for safety, maintenance, transportation, fine arts and facility upgrades, as well as athletics improvements and instructional technology enhancements, according to district information. The bond’s approval has no impact on BISD’s overall tax rate as the district has existing capacity to take on this debt, Merrell said.
Big-ticket items to be funded by 2025 bond dollars include:
- $144.34 million in priority maintenance projects, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning components, sitework, roofing, carpeting and painting tasks
- $63.17 million to rebuild Bryan Collegiate High School and update its technology
- $42.79 million for career and technical education additions and renovations, including $10.96 million for a new multipurpose teaching and training facility at the CTE Complex
- $35.79 million to rebuild the field house at Merrill Green Stadium and replace its scoreboard and sound system equipment
- $12.8 million in safety and security upgrades, including a new bus ridership tracking program to alert parents and drivers of who is on the bus
“Every campus is being touched,” Merrell said. “Every building, every facility is being upgraded in some way, shape or form.”
Taking a step back
Bryan Collegiate High School, the district’s early college high school, is in need of a new building, as the facility was constructed in the 1950s, Merrell said. The new campus will be built next to the existing campus so students can continue attending the high school while construction is ongoing.
“We were going to spend roughly over 60% of the cost of a new building just to renovate it,” Merrell said. “You would still have ongoing issues and challenges ... so the [bond oversight] committee didn’t feel comfortable doing that; they wanted to build a new one. So out of that rose the new Bryan Collegiate.”
Over 100 students graduate each year from Bryan Collegiate, Merrell said, beginning their adult life with a two-year college degree in hand. The new building will have capacity for up to 700 students, should the district expand the early college program in the future, he said.
“We’re hoping to give them a building that matches the work that’s being done on the inside [by students], and we’re incredibly proud. Those kids come from all over the district,” Merrell said.
Similarly, the fieldhouse for Merrill Green Stadium—which serves students districtwide—was built in the 1970s, and BISD has now outgrown the available space, he said. The new fieldhouse will be built on the same property and likely begin construction in December after the next football season, he said.
“We would build it where Rudder [High School] has its own dedicated space, Bryan [High School] has its own dedicated space,” Merrell said. “You’re going to get a new, beautiful Merrill Green Fieldhouse that’s centrally located as people come to Bryan.”
By the numbers
The $397 million package is more than double what voters approved in 2020, which totaled $175 million, Merrell said.
Construction on bond projects will begin after the district receives the bond funds. BISD will receive the first portion of bond funds following the first bond sale of $290 million in August, Griffin said. A bond sale cannot take place until legal items and county property appraisals are finalized.
Other future bond sales include:
- A second bond sale of $60 million will occur in August 2029.
- A third bond sale of $47 million will occur in August 2031.
More details
During a Feb. 2 board of trustees meeting, the board approved the $282,000 purchase of fine arts band trailers for Bryan High School and James Earl Rudder High School. Although the project was outlined in the 2025 bond package, the purchase was approved using remaining funds from the 2020 bond package, Merrell said, which total about $20 million.
“[Some of] those projects in 2025 that the voters voted on, we were able to move forward already, even though we haven’t sold the bonds yet because we had 2020 money left,” he said.
According to district information, the new band trailers could be ready for use as early as this fall.
