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College Station ISD projects inch toward finish line as trustees hear summer timelines
Summary
District facilities staff told the Board of Trustees that major bond projects — additions, CTE expansion and stadium upgrades — are largely on track, with academic wings targeted for early August CO walks and athletic/fine‑arts spaces expected later in the fall. Trustees asked about logistics, budgets and security.
At a board workshop, Josh Simac, the district’s lead construction presenter, told trustees the district’s bond‑funded projects are substantially advanced and that crews are working an aggressive summer schedule to complete interior work before the school year begins.
Simac said the addition at the A and M Salt Lake High School campus is about "95, 96% done with the addition," with interior punch‑list work and a scheduled punch walk next week; he described a 65‑day plan to finish interior work so teachers can move in before August. He listed new spaces including 16 science labs, four special‑services rooms, a new weight room and a film room. "We really are just working on some of the minor details," he said.
Why it matters: the projects are intended to relieve overcrowding, remove portable classrooms, and expand hands‑on career and technical education across the district. Simac said wings A and B will provide an additional 18 classrooms, nine labs, five CTE rooms and an art room, allowing 12 teachers housed in six portables to move indoors and freeing roughly 43–45 parking spaces.
Trustees also heard progress reports for Rock Prairie Elementary and the district career and technical education (CTE) center. Rock Prairie’s kindergarten wing, gym and cafeteria are complete and the campus is preparing library floors and a new front office addition; Simac said substantial completion is expected just before school starts. CTE phase 2 (contractor Pogue) is trending toward a mid‑July completion date for equipment and furniture deliveries, with the new multipurpose arena sized at about 7,800 square feet and planned to seat roughly 250 for banquet setups.
Simac addressed community concerns about masonry color differences on new façades, saying the district pulled the same brick submittals and the same vendor used in the original build but noted "14 years of weathering" on older brick; he said crews will acid‑wash and clean mortar joints so the new work will better blend with existing buildings.
On stadium work, local contractor Jacote (GMP May 2025) resumed work after early heavy rains; Simac said field‑house expansions, grandstand installations and press‑box waterproofing are underway and that digital scoreboards are largely installed but remain to be tied in at one campus. He said substantial completion for stadium work is targeted for the end of August, weather permitting.
Budget and procurement: Simac said guaranteed maximum prices (GMPs) approved in March–April 2025 helped lock costs and shield the district from short‑term inflation. He told trustees the projects are "under everywhere" on budget so far and that contingency remains; he also described possible uses for remaining bond proceeds — additional parking, gym and restroom improvements or roofing projects — but said any reallocation would return to the board for approval.
What’s next: Simac said trustees will be offered summer tour opportunities and that CO walks are scheduled for early August; he asked trustees to keep weather and inspections in mind as timelines that remain somewhat contingent. The board opened questions but took no formal actions during the workshop.
