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 board directed Huckabee to begin planning and community outreach that will include graphics, website materials and the formation of support committees ahead of an expected election effort.

District of Innovation plan and policy updates

Trustees adopted updates to the district’s District of Innovation (DOI) plan, which the board said clarifies local flexibility on requirements such as school health-advisory (SHAC) meeting frequency, counseling duties and bank depository procedures. The board also approved TASB policy update 01/25 to align local policy with recent state changes; the superintendent’s office noted additional new legislation (for example on student cell-phone rules) is expected to be captured in upcoming TASB updates.

Health insurance and salary schedule changes

The board approved a recommended health-insurance premium change that district staff said increases the district’s cost by $63 per covered person per month — described in staff remarks as roughly a $366,000 increase against the district’s existing roughly $2.8 million health-insurance budget — and voted to absorb that cost for employees.

Trustees also approved the district’s revised salary schedules to implement state-required adjustments tied to House Bill 2. The administration described the teacher-pay implementation as complying with state parameters: certain teachers received larger raises (the district said teachers with five or more years received an $8,000 increase as presented) while other steps and stipends will be adjusted to align with the statute. The board reported a new starting salary for first-year teachers of $45,300. Noncertified hourly and professional staff were described as receiving approximately a 3% increase where funds permitted.

Meal prices, free-meal clarifications

The board approved a 10¢ increase to student breakfast and lunch prices. Administrators said primary and elementary grades already receive free meals districtwide; intermediate, junior-high and high-school students who qualify for reduced-price meals will receive free lunches for the next two years under a state program the district obtained. Board members corrected a rate-sheet error during discussion to show pre-K through grade 3 pricing as $0 where those campuses participate in the districtwide free-meals program.

Baseball upgrades: only one high bid; contract to be rebid

The board discussed a rebid of baseball stadium work after receiving a single bid for dugout and backstop work that totaled about $340,000, far above staff estimates of roughly $50,000–$60,000 for the netting/poles and a combined plan the district had anticipated. The board declined to award that contract and said administrators will consult the district attorney about next steps; trustees noted a separate contract for netting and poles already has been awarded but the awarded vendor cannot complete its work until the dugout/backstop demolition and reconstruction occur. The board said there is $100,000 donated toward the project and staff will return with options.

Attendance times, election order and election administrators

Trustees approved daily attendance “snapshot” times for each campus for the 2025–26 school year and set an alternate attendance time (1:15 p.m.) to capture students who attend off-campus programs such as WINGS or the Texas Bioscience Institute.

The board adopted an order calling the November 4 trustee election for two three-year seats and noted the filing deadline for candidates is Aug. 18 at 5 p.m. Trustees appointed Justin Crothers (Coryell County tax assessor-collector and early voting clerk) as the district’s election administrator for Coryell County and Dr. Desi Roberts as the election administrator for Bell County.

Votes at a glance

- Retain Huckabee Architects to begin design and bond planning: approved (motion carried; vote recorded as all in favor). - Adopt District of Innovation plan changes as presented: approved (all in favor). - Approve employee health insurance premium increase (district to fund $63/month per person as presented): approved (all in favor). - Adopt revised salary schedules and teacher pay implementation per House Bill 2 (including reported starting teacher salary of $45,300 and targeted raises described by staff): approved (all in favor). - Increase student meal prices by 10¢ and confirm free-meal program details: approved (all in favor; pre-K–3 rates corrected to $0 where applicable). - Do not award dugout/backstop contract after receiving a single $340,000 bid; consult legal counsel and rebid: consensus direction/no award. - Approve daily campus attendance snapshot times and alternate attendance time for off-campus programs: approved (all in favor). - Adopt TASB policy update 01/25 and associated local-policy revisions: approved (all in favor). - Adopt trustee election order for Nov. 4 and appoint election administrators for Coryell and Bell counties: approved (all in favor).

What’s next

Administrators said Huckabee will begin design and community-engagement work and that the board will need to plan outreach and a potential bond-steering committee. Staff said they will consult the district attorney about options to rebid or restructure the baseball work and will return to the board with recommendations at a future meeting.

(Disclosure: the meeting transcript supplied to the newsroom is the primary source for this article.)