Questions

Answer- The current plan is for the existing gymnasium at Woodland Elementary to remain on the site. The district has added air conditioning for this gym and the similar gym at Crestview Elementary. It will serve as an auxiliary gym for the campus in addition to the new attached gym that will be constructed as part of the New Woodland Elementary. This auxiliary gym will be used by the campus as needed and by the community for little dribbler practice, etc. The current plan does not include constructing a closed corridor to the existing gym. Not being attached to the new campus will be beneficial when allowing the gym to be used for little dribbler practices, etc. as the groups will have access to limited space.

Answer- The Crestview Elementary campus will be repurposed for district and community use.

For many years, the district has discussed the possibility of creating a district-operated daycare for our employees. One challenge to accomplishing this has been adequate space. The current 1st-grade wing would serve as an excellent space for a district-operated daycare. We will also explore possible community partnerships (Hospital District, City of Graham, Young County, etc.) with the daycare operation. 

Spaces within the building will be repurposed to serve as the central administration office and office for district support staff such as curriculum, special education, technology, etc. After this is accomplished, the district would sell the current administration office.

The current library and cafeteria spaces will be used for school board meetings, staff development/training, community meeting space, etc.

We will explore the possibility of creating community partnerships to provide an after-school program (YMCA Type Program) using the Crestview spaces.

We will explore the needs and wants of community groups (non-profits, city, county, etc.) for office space. 

The facility and property may serve additional future needs of the district. For example, when the community approved the bond for the high school renovation, this led to changing locations of practice fields, etc. At some point, the district will need to address facility needs at Graham Junior High. Addressing these needs may lead to the district needing to relocate our maintenance and transportation department. 

Answer- Do you currently live within Graham ISD? If so, you can register to vote and as long as you are residing within the district on election day you will be allowed to vote in the May 6, 2023, election. It is our understanding that you must be a resident within the district prior to the voter registration deadline to be eligible to vote in the May 6, 2023, election.

For specific election questions, please contact the Young County Elections Administrator, Kaitlyn Mosley at k.mosley@youngcounty.org or at 940-521-9483. The Young County Elections Website is www.co.young.tx.us/page/young.Elections.

Answer- The term of the bond is 25 years.

Answer- Regarding the plan for the Crestview property, please see the response to Question #2. The new Crestview playground will be moved to the Pioneer Elementary campus.

Answer- We are currently in the process of installing an electronic lock system on select exterior doors throughout the district. Additionally, during the school board meeting scheduled for April 19, 2023, I will be recommending two items related to school safety- 1. The installation of 3M window film on glass entrance doors, etc. at all campuses. This will make these areas extremely difficult to penetrate even with a firearm. An example of this level of protection can be viewed at https://youtu.be/2pxyKij9fPY. 2. The installation of keyless/wireless door locks for 202 classroom doors. The total cost for these is approximately $300,000 with $200,000 coming from the school safety grant and $100,000 from the district fund balance. An additional safety solution that we are working to implement is a Silent Panic Alert Technology (SPAT) system. The SPAT system will provide for "one-touch" notification of first responders, SRO, school marshall, campus admin, and district guardians. 

It is important to note that the State has issued a list of proposed school facility safety guidelines. Once those are finalized, I anticipate additional protocols/systems that will need to be installed. 

Regarding the construction of the facility projects included in the proposed school bond, the facilities will be constructed to address school safety issues including auto locks for all interior and exterior doors, bullet resistant/proof glass for doors/windows, surveillance cameras, etc. Additionally, the new construction will include spaces constructed to meet the ICC500 storm shelter standards. An excellent example of buildings constructed to meet the ICC500 standard and the level of protection it provided is Jacksboro ISD and the tornado they experienced in March of 2022. 

Answer- Yes, the district’s fund balance will be used to pay for “Soft Costs” (Geotech, Material Testing, Technology Infrastructure, Software, Hardware, Alarm System, Phone System, Security Cameras, Security Fencing, Asbestos Abatement), Furniture, Equipment, a New Playground at the New Woodland Elementary, Moving the New Crestview Playground to Pioneer Elementary, etc.

Additionally, the district’s fund balance will be used to cover high than anticipated costs when “real” pricing is received through the bid process that is anticipated to take place in December of 2023 or January of 2024. The district’s fund balance may prevent the necessity to  “value engineer” (cut the square footage of hallways, common spaces, etc.) the planned projects. 

A good example of a fund balance being used is the community-approved 2008 Graham High School Bond Project. The community approved a $30M Bond for renovations/additions at Graham High School. The district used $4.5M from the fund balance for that project to cover the items listed above. As a result, the total cost for the GHS renovations/additions project was $34.5M. 

Following the completion of the bond projects, Crestview Elementary will be repurposed for district support services, daycare, etc. Any costs associated with repurposing the facility will be paid from the district's fund balance.

Answer- The Advisory Board and the Graham ISD Board of Trustees discussed this possibility during the facility planning process. Although no formal vote was held, the general consensus 

is the District would take a proposition to the citizens in the upcoming November 2023 election. The Board will need to decide if they keep the proposed bond for the same scope of work as what is being asked in the May 2023 election or if the scope of work is to be amended. 

Answer- We anticipate about 3 years to complete all the proposed projects. The first phase will be the construction of two new instructional wings and a gymnasium at Pioneer Elementary. Once this work is completed, the 1st and 2nd-grade students will be moved to Pioneer Elementary, and 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade will be moved to Crestview Elementary.  Phase two of the project will be the demolition of the current Woodland campus and the construction of the new Woodland Elementary. An optimistic completion date is December of 2026. The work planned for Graham Junior  High will be completed during the two above phases of construction. After all the above projects are completed, Crestview Elementary will be repurposed for district and community use.