Huckabee facility assessment outlines districtwide needs; bond earnings, projects and off-site detention deal discussed
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Summary
Huckabee Architects presented an interactive facility-assessment dashboard covering 24 Willis ISD sites and prioritized repair timelines; district leaders reviewed bond project status, interest earnings and an off-site detention cost-sharing agreement with Howard Hughes that trustees approved.
Willis ISD leaders and Huckabee Architects presented the district'wide facility assessment and bond project update at the Oct. 8 school board meeting, including an interactive web dashboard that catalogs deficiencies, priorities and estimated costs for 24 facilities.
Why it matters: the assessment is intended to give trustees, staff and the public a prioritized, record-level view of maintenance needs and capital planning options as the district prepares for future bonds and facility projects.
What was presented: Caitlin Lunch, a principal with Huckabee Architects, described the assessment process — field observations, infrastructure and envelope reviews, mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) input, and the use of a digital mapping tool to tabulate deficiencies by campus, priority (0'5 years, 5'10 years, 20+ years) and cost. Lunch said the online dashboard will let maintenance and construction teams isolate issues by room number, photo and recommended timeline.
Board members saw samples of proposed work and a short video rendering of the ninth'grade campus the district is building for completion in 2027. Superintendent Kimberly James and staff showed recent bond-funded work including additional high-school parking, a new transportation facility site, and the site for Elementary No. 7 off MP Clark.
Bond earnings and arbitrage: Chief Financial Officer Garrett Monde summarized interest earnings across district funds, saying the district earned roughly $2.9 million in the general operating fund and more than $9.6 million across all funds in the past fiscal year; the largest earnings were in the 2022 bond fund (about $18.6 million). He told the board he expects an arbitrage liability to the IRS in the range of $3 million to $4 million tied to bond-project investment earnings and said interest-rate cuts will likely reduce earnings going forward.
Off-site detention and cost-sharing: the board voted to approve a cost-sharing agreement with Howard Hughes Corporation related to off-site stormwater detention and a new access road for Elementary No. 7. Administration said the district'paid $1,000,000 from 2022 bond funds for the district'use portion of off-site detention; staff reported the arrangement reduced the overall site cost by roughly $3,000,000 compared with an all-district solution.
Facility-assessment next steps: staff said each campus report will be returned to the board for more detailed review during a scheduled workshop; the district will also consider whether to enable a "completed" checkbox in the dashboard so maintenance staff can mark tasks done and track progress between bond cycles.
Board action: trustees approved the cost-sharing agreement with Howard Hughes (motion recorded; vote 7-0), and later approved the district'selection and delegated negotiating authority for a construction manager-at-risk for Cannon Elementary expansion following an RFP and ranking process (7-0 vote). The board set a workshop to review the full facility-assessment data.
Ending: district leaders said the assessment and online tools are designed to help the board and community prioritize spending and bond planning, and that campus-level PDFs and mapping exports will be available to maintenance crews and to the public.