WISD trustees workshop options to repurpose Coleman Building, weigh licensing, costs and possible sale

WAXAHACHIE — WAXAHACHIE ISD administration presented trustees with a range of options for the future use of the Evelyn Coleman Building, a roughly 303,000-square-foot campus that the district opened as a high school in 1970 and now houses programs including the discipline alternative education program (DAEP), the TLI program and several centralized services.

In a workshop presentation, Mr. Collin, a district staff member, told trustees the district is considering consolidating administrative functions at Coleman, relocating pre‑K or the Little Chiefs Academy (the district childcare program), expanding special education and technology spaces there, or the outright sale of part of the property and reinvestment of proceeds. “No magic bullet, magic pill on any of this,” Collin said while inviting board feedback.

The district provided specific space and cost figures. District staff said the Coleman complex totals about 303,000 square feet under roof (excluding athletic fields and courts). The administration footprint considered for consolidation is roughly 16,500 square feet of office space (13,400 square feet in the main building and two portables of about 1,500 square feet each). Staff estimated roughly 34,500 square feet of additional office/coded space across TLI and special education. Bond funds labeled for Coleman total about $6 million, the presentation said.

Why it matters: Coleman is a large district asset that could relieve…