Montgomery ISD’s board of trustees approved the guaranteed maximum price of $65.3 million for construction costs on the district’s career and technical education, and agricultural science centers on Jan. 23.

The overview

Trustees unanimously voted to approve maximum construction costs—not including other project costs, MISD Chief Operations Officer Kris Lynn said—of about $46.2 million for the CTE center, $15.8 million for the ag center and $3.3 million in “project alternates,” according to Jan. 23 meeting presentation materials. The approved project alternates include:
  • A 16,162-square-foot expansion for the CTE center
  • An added 17,591-square-foot exterior cover expansion for the ag center
  • A canopy for the buildings’ welding and construction yard
According to Lynn, once completed, the centers will include features such as:
  • A bistro operated during select hours by culinary students and open to the community
  • An engineering and robotics lab
  • An animal show arena with livestock pens
  • An animal science classroom and lab
The cost

MISD’s CTE and ag centers are part of the district’s $326.9 million bond approved by voters in 2022, and are expected to cost a combined total of $80 million, as previously reported by Community Impact. The buildings will measure a combined 189,000 square feet, according to a Jan. 24 news release from MISD.

On Jan. 23, the board was presented with two choices—Option 1 and Option 2—for the maximum construction costs before the board unanimously selected Option 1. According to meeting presentation materials:
  • Option 1 includes six project alternates and will place the project’s construction budget over by about $43,000.
  • Option 2 would have excluded one alternate and placed the district under budget on construction by about $22,000.
Leftover funds the district has from other bond projects can go toward the additional construction costs, Lynn said.


“The district has many projects going on right now,” Lynn said. “Several of those are coming in under budget. We also earn interest on the bond money that is sitting there while we are waiting to pay out on some of these projects.”

The timeline

As previously reported by Community Impact, milestones for the CTE and ag centers projects include:
  • May 2022: MISD voters approve the district’s 2022 bond, which includes the CTE and ag centers.
  • March 2023: The centers’ site location along Lone Star Parkway—between Buffalo Springs and Plez Morgan Drive—is announced.
  • October 2023: Renderings for the centers debut at a board of trustees meeting.
  • November 2023: Trustees approve a maximum price of $4.27 million for initial stages of work on the centers.
  • July 2025: The centers are expected to be completed.