Trustees for Granbury Independent School District said Tuesday evening they have not decided whether to deed or enter a long-term transfer of the Decker Gym property, and that United Way of Hood County currently leases the building and pays rent. The remarks came during the district’s quarterly community forum, where parents and local nonprofit leaders asked for clarity amid online rumors.

Community concern over Decker Gym grew after online posts said the district planned to transfer the facility or enter a 99-year lease. “There's been a lot of talk online about Decker Gym. Lots of information, lots of comments, and I can't make heads or tails of what's factual and what's not,” said Danielle Thomas, a parent who asked for a status update. Trustee Miss Gorr replied, “So there's no status update because there’s nothing that has been decided or done. As far as the school district is concerned, we are just in an informational gathering phase.”

The board clarified at the forum that a lease or memorandum of understanding for the building was discussed at a September 2024 meeting as an agreement to lease the building; the district did not provide vote tallies or a copy of the motion at the forum. The trustee also said title research and other background work remain underway and that no definitive transfer or deed has been executed. “There’s a lot of back-end work that goes into title research and getting all the information that we need as a board to be able to make a decision one way or another moving forward,” Miss Gorr said.

Local program leaders described current use of the space. Joseph Jones, president of the local nonprofit Play It Forward Fitness, said he has run free youth basketball and fitness sessions at the facility through a partnership with United Way. “We are averaging well over 30 kids every Tuesday,” Jones said, and added he has coached more than 200 children through his volunteer programs. Jones praised United Way’s willingness to provide access without charging program leaders rent in his early weeks there.

District leaders also addressed questions about connections between trustees and outside organizations. Miss Gorr told the forum she had stepped down from the United Way board and had last attended a United Way meeting in February; she said she did not participate in United Way discussions about the Decker Gym while she was absent from that board.

Next steps identified at the forum included continued title review and the district’s planned facility presentation and audit at the upcoming regular board meeting; that audit, administrators said, will inform the district’s long-range facility planning and any future formal proposals about properties. No formal board action about Decker Gym was taken at the forum.

Community members who want documents or clarifications were told to use the district’s new “Connect with Us” form on the Granbury ISD website or submit a public information request if they want official records; the superintendent reminded the public that some material may be redacted for student or employee confidentiality or attorney–client privilege.