Construction projects funded by the bond approved in 2018 by Nacogdoches ISD voters are all but complete. One more is still underway with an expected finish by the end of the summer.
On Tuesday, members of the Citizen Bond Review Committee heard an update from Deputy Superintendent Michael Martin and Director of Facilities and Construction Ralph Larue on the completed projects as well as the final undertaking, the 12,716-square-foot Nacogdoches ISD Professional Development Center, a training and conference center for the district’s teaching and professional staff that will accommodate meetings of more than 300 people.
The CBRC was appointed by the NISD Board of Trustees in 2018, following the successful bond election, to review progress of projects and expenditures related to the bond.
CBRC also saw expenditures on all projects, and learned spending of the bond proceeds should come in just under budget.
The Professional Development Center is all that remains to be finalized from the 2018 bond. All others – including the capstone projects Emeline Carpenter Elementary, expansion of McMichael Middle School and the Malcolm Rector Center for Advanced Careers & Innovation – have been completed and are being used by the district.
During the update on spending related to bond construction, Chief Financial Officer Ben Eberlan showed CBRC nearly all the original $77.9 million has been allocated to date, with the exception of what remains to be finished on the training center. Once that job is finalized, Eberlan said the district expects to come in under budget by roughly $216,000.
NISD purposely held off on the Professional Development Center until it was clear all other projects would be completed, Deputy Superintendent Michael Martin told CBRC. The Board of Trustees on Jan. 25, 2024, approved the low base bid of $7.03 million from Construction Managers of Southeast Texas LLC for the training and conference center. Nacogdoches architect Army Curtis designed the building.
