Gatesville ISD board names Huckabee architect for bond planning, adopts pay and benefits changes; baseball work to be rebid

The Gatesville ISD Board of Trustees on Monday approved multiple measures to prepare for a possible May 2026 bond election, adopted pay and benefits changes for employees and students, and said it would rebid a baseball-dugout and backstop contract after receiving a single unexpectedly high bid.

The board voted to retain Huckabee as the district’s architectural firm for junior-high renovations, a new field house and a small press box, and approved a slate of administrative and operational items including a District of Innovation plan, an increase in employee health insurance contributions, new teacher and staff salary scales and a 10¢ increase to student meal prices.

The actions set the district’s planning path for a bond that would aim to move sixth grade back to junior high, replace a deteriorating field house, add a home-side press box and address several athletic- and campus-maintenance needs. The board also addressed several routine business items and election-administration appointments ahead of the November trustee election.

Board selects architect to begin bond planning

The board appointed Huckabee to lead architectural work and preliminary cost estimating for the projects the district has discussed during recent months: junior-high renovation/addition to return sixth grade to the junior high, a new field house, a small press box on what the board described as the “Vistra side” and ancillary site work. The board cited Huckabee’s responsiveness and detailed cost estimates during the firm’s interviews and noted the firm’s local ties through lead architect Brent Winkler.

District administrators told trustees the district has bond capacity after early debt paydown and that a May 2026 election timeline requires starting design and community engagement work now. The…