Grayson County board discusses Independence Elementary addition, agrees to draft conditional support for DOE grant

Kelly Wilmore, presenting for Grayson County, outlined plans to add classrooms and expand the cafeteria and kitchen at Independence Elementary School and laid out preliminary cost estimates and grant match information.

Wilmore said architects reduced the proposed addition to 5,482 square feet for four classrooms and estimated construction costs at approximately $400 per square foot, putting the standalone classroom addition at roughly $2,192,800. An expanded kitchen and cafeteria was estimated at about 2,600 square feet; combined project totals and fees drove a presented ballpark project total in the meeting to roughly $3.44 million. Wilmore said the project may qualify for a Department of Education grant that typically awards a 10%–30% match and that the county most likely qualifies at a 20% match level. “We qualify for 20%,” Wilmore said; he added that the school system and county can include contractual clauses to back out if bids come in significantly over estimates.

Board members and staff discussed deadlines, the need for an RFP and the schedule if the county pursued the grant: Wilmore said a public RFP would likely require about 30 days, followed by a pre-bid meeting, and estimated that construction could start in June with an approximately six-month timeline. County staff noted the grant process is not guaranteed every year and that award notifications would be expected by the end of the month after the application window closes.

Finance concerns were a recurring theme. A board member reminded colleagues the county would likely need to borrow to cover any local share and that funding the debt service could require a levy increase; staff said preliminary conversations with lenders suggested interest-rate options “in the neighborhood of 5 to 5.5 percent” for a multi-year note. Board members asked for a draft letter to the Department of Education that would state county support but include contingencies — for example, preserving the ability to withdraw if bids exceed preset thresholds or if the grant match proved smaller than expected.

No formal appropriation was made; the board agreed to have staff draft a letter of support with stipulations and to review that letter at the upcoming budget work session. County staff said they would supply a draft for board review ahead of the next meeting and that final fiscal commitments — including whether to borrow or adjust the levy for debt service — would be a separate decision for a future meeting.