Richardson ISD is eying a 2029 opening for the district’s new Environmental Science Center and a 2030 opening for a Career and Technical Education center.
District officials laid out the design and construction timelines for both projects, which will be funded by the 2025 bond, at the Aug. 6 school board meeting.
“We know there is a tremendous amount of energy in our community around our environmental center and our proposed CTE center,” Superintendent Tabitha Branum said. “Momentum is building and we’re really looking forward to this work.”
The overview
Richardson ISD voters approved the district’s $1.4 billion bond in November 2025.
While RISD’s middle school transformation remains the priority for the first two years of the bond, the district is in planning stages for other major bond projects, Branum said.
Design work is scheduled to begin this school year for both projects.
The CTE center, which will be constructed near the RISD Operations Center on Greenville Avenue, is projected to open in August 2030.
The district will renovate the existing Environmental Science Center in addition to constructing a new facility nearby. The renovated center will open in fall 2027, while the new building is set to open in fall 2029.
The details
RISD will kick off the planning for the CTE center in October to establish the center’s vision, goals and workforce needs, said Le Estes, executive director of facilities planning, design and construction.
Estes said the district plans to engage a committee to help with this pre-planning process. A 16-month design process is slated to begin in February 2027, which will include schematic design, building design and the creation of construction documents.
The board is scheduled to approve the designs in September 2028 and construction will begin that fall.
Estes said the district plans on about 20 months of construction, with a targeted opening date in August 2030.
Branum said a priority for the district is ensuring the CTE center offers flexible space that will allow the district to adjust programs as needs and industries change.
“You may have one industry that right now is in incredible demand in 2030, but by 2040 it may be obsolete because of technology,” Branum said. “How do we have that flexibility within the infrastructure to even adjust in a space like that?”
A closer look
RISD’s existing Environmental Science Center, which Estes said was the first center of its kind in North Texas, is located in Garland on Campbell Road, near Big Springs Elementary School.
“When you were a kid or a student, what you remember is the experiential part of what you learned,” Estes said. “I remember touching an animal. I remember learning about trees. That was the experiential learning we’re wanting to bring back.”
The existing building is too small for the district’s current size, Estes said, but its location on a floodplain makes a building addition or replacement impossible. The only option for the existing building is an interior renovation, Estes said.
In order to offer more space for programming, the district identified a site next to Big Springs that is outside of the floodplain where a new building can be constructed.
The district is beginning planning now to establish a master plan for the two facilities, including ways to connect the two buildings. Renovation on the existing building will start at the beginning of 2027, with a soft launch of some programs planned for fall 2027.
“With the nature of this program being potentially an outdoor learning center, you want students to be outside,” Estes said. “How can we connect these two facilities in a meaningful way? Can we establish a trail system that connects the two?”
Design on the new building is scheduled to begin May 2027 and construction will start June 2028. RISD is planning to open the new building in September 2028.
“We don’t want to build something for the past,” Branum said. “We want to really design and build for that next generation.”
