A new Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or JROTC, facility could be built at Pflugerville ISD's Connally High School.
Chief Operations Officer Victor Valdez provided the board of trustees with an update on the design of the facility Oct. 1.
Some context
Valdez said there are currently two JROTC programs in the district: one at Hendrickson High School for the Marine Corps and one at Connally High School for the Army.
While Hendrickson has a facility for its program, Connally does not, Valdez said. Connally's program is smaller than Hendrickson's, but has about 150 JROTC students.
Valdez said the JROTC program is a "major component" of the district's 3E initiative for the enrollment, employment or enlistment of every PfISD graduate.
The details
Valdez said the district has completed a schematic design in collaboration with a design team, district facilities staff and campus JROTC leadership.
The proposed 8,000-square-foot standalone facility would allow Connally's JROTC capacity to increase to 210 students. Features of the designed facility include:
A commons area
Flexible classroom space
A cross-fit and physical therapy area
A 10-meter marksmanship range
A cadet operations and collaboration hub
A supply depot and armory space
Locker rooms and a laundry room
Outdoor training grounds
Valdez said the proposed facility could be located along the east edge of Connally's tennis courts. This would form a link between the north parking area and the existing south pedestrian route, and open west onto the campus green area. The site is enclosed by a secure perimeter fence with controlled access points.
Something to note
While this facility was not planned in any previous bond, it would be eligible to be funded by the 2022 bond, Valdez said. Proposition G of the bond authorizes funding for design and construction of a career and technical education center, which Valdez said has broken ground and is 20-25% complete.
"That propositional line item ... is part of the CTE world, and those funds can only be used for CTE initiatives," Valdez said. "The JROTC program is a CTE program within Pflugerville ISD."
Valdez said these bond dollars must go toward construction of the facility itself and cannot be allocated toward staffing and salaries.
What's next?
With the design development phase completed, Valdez said the next phase will include finalizing construction documents and preparing to go out to bid for a construction manager to determine the potential cost of the facility.
Valdez also said that because Connally is within the city of Austin, permitting could take some time.
