Marble Falls ISD board approves bond package to present to voters

The Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees approved putting a bond before voters on the May 3 ballot.

The bond, valued at $172.2 million, has four parts: general facilities planning, staff 1 to 1 devices, athletics and indoor multipurpose facility.

Athletics projects total $12.515 million and the high school indoor multipurpose facility with all of its amenities totals $26.05 million.

“I envision all of our sports and all of our students in extracurricular activities using the multipurpose facility,” said Dr. Jeff Gasaway, Marble Falls ISD superintendent, to TexasChalkTalk.com.

When Gasaway presented the board a slide show of the projects during the MFISD school board meeting Jan. 27, he noted that some projects will be new from what the school district’s Community Advisory Committee recommended in mid December. The new additions include a new auxiliary gym that’s part of the indoor multipurpose facility, a relocation of the band hall, and remodeling the existing band hall to become the new home of Marble Falls cheer and Starlettes.

The high school multipurpose facility, which has a price tag of $16.5 million, will house a 37,900-square-foot field that is 60 yards in length complete with an end zone, three track lanes, restrooms and storage. Also included in the facility is a weight room and weights that cost $4.25 million and an auxiliary gym that cost $5.3 million. The facility will be constructed on the existing baseball field.

The need for an auxiliary gym is because three other extracurricular activities — band, cheer and the Starlettes — will have new homes.

The existing band hall would become the new home of the Starlettes and cheer squad, while the existing auxiliary gym would become the new band hall.

“This was a unique idea where we would be one of the few indoor facilities that would have a gymnasium that you could have basketball and volleyball and move straight into the artificial turf, move straight into the weight room, and have all of that in one small area,” Gasaway told board members. “It’s sitting on the existing baseball field. It did not fit well anywhere else on campus unless you put it way out above the baseball field, somewhere in that area. When you’re dealing with a thunderstorm, lightning, bad weather, inclement weather and trying to get the kids as quick as we can to a facility, we felt like looking at an additional facility would be a good idea.”

The high school band hall relocation and expansion would cost $8.3 million, while the high school dance and cheer relocation and renovation would cost $2.5 million to move these activities into the existing band hall, “which would be a dramatic increase of space and all sorts of additional facilities than what (cheer and the Starlettes) have,” Gasaway said.

“We are looking at moving the band hall into the small gym and increasing the square footage of the band hall and that they would have it connected to the existing dance hall that can be used as class room space or as practice space,” Gasaway said during his presentation to the board. “They would have access to the locker rooms for band use only as well as the mezzanine for storage. It would increase the square footage significantly. But this would mean losing a gym. Moving it from where it currently resides to the small gym and expanding it in total square footage as well as having additional projects getting included in that $8.3 million.”

Gasaway said Marble Falls ISD officials came to these conclusions after speaking with the directors and coaches of each activity.

“We were looking at the space and recommendations,” he told TexasChalkTalk.com. “(The existing) space is not up to standards. It gives us a chance to relocate the band with additional space, much more space, and the use of the locker rooms in the Mustang gym where we can help them be in a much better space.”

Gasaway said the existing Mustang Gym, which was the original varsity gym when the high school opened in 1989, will continue to be used for doubleheaders during district play as well as pre-district tournaments. Both high school basketball programs host annual tournaments in November and December and use that gym.

If approved, the new auxiliary gym in the multipurpose facility won’t have more than four rows of bleachers and isn’t designed to replace Max Copeland or Mustang gyms, the superintendent said.

But its location, ideal for volleyball and basketball players, is optimal to go from the gym into the new weight room for strength sessions.

And Gasaway emphasized his presentation to the board didn’t reveal all the multipurpose facility would have – batting and pitching cages, pitcher’s mound and bases all for baseball and softball, nets and field lines for soccer, and a clearly marked 50-yard line for the band. It would be used for Marble Falls ISD students of all ages and activities, the superintendent said.

If the school district added a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, he believes those students would use it, too.

“Every single one of our sports,” he said. “It’s for a wide variety. The intent is for every single one of our sports to use it. We’ve made sure it’s designed in a way that meets those needs.”

This athletics portion of the bond also includes new boys and girls varsity locker rooms that’s 2,000 square feet at Max Copeland Gym costing $3 million. They would be attached to the gym and constructed in the grassy area between the existing gym and the original field house that serves as medical training rooms, locker rooms for soccer, and a secondary weight room. Each locker room would have a storage, 24 lockers with a concrete bench in front of them complete with a shower room with nine shower heads, sinks, urinals and toilet for the boys and 24 lockers with a concrete bench in front of them, a shower area with six shower stalls, toilets and sinks for the girls.

If the voters approve the multipurpose facility that will be constructed on the existing Scearce Baseball Field, a new baseball stadium will have to be built. It would be located on the north side of Mustang Stadium, where the shot put and discus pits and practice fields are located. The stadium, which will cost $6.53 million, also will include artificial turf, a locker room, bleachers, office, bathrooms, concession stands, dugouts, batting cages, stands and a press box. Because the stadium will be where the existing water detention facility is located, a new 42,000-square-foot water retention pond will be created and located behind the left wall on the northwest side of the baseball field.

This portion of the bond also includes artificial turf for Scearce Softball Field at $1.185 million and two features at Mustang Stadium: replacing the artificial turf at $1 million because the current turf’s end of life is in 2027 and “upgrading the current scoreboard to a digital scoreboard” for $800,000.

“(The scoreboard) is something new, something sharp,” the superintendent said. “The kids will be able to learn to run the scoreboard and video. The students will serve as the staff.”

Gasaway said adding artificial turf to the baseball and current softball fields means not having to water or seed the natural grass both have right now, which will save money and water, and allows the teams to stay on schedule to play. The softball program cancelled a scrimmage against Florence set for Thursday, Jan. 30, because of rain that began the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 29, and ended the morning of Thursday, Jan. 30.

“If we have rain on those fields, it can take a couple of days to dry,” he said. “It’s a benefit not to have to water those fields. We can focus on playing time.”

During his presentation to the board, Gasaway noted the 2018 bond worth that was worth $55 million then would cost almost $91 million today when accounting for inflation.

And equally important is how the bond would be paid. The State of Texas allows schools districts to pay for bonds through the Interest and Sinking (INS) tax rate. But there would not be an increase to Marble Falls ISD households and would remain at the current rate of 21.53 cents, Gasaway said.

“If they would fail, it would be tax of 21.53,” he told board members. “If all four were to pass, it would be a tax rate of 21.53. That 21.53 will not change whether it passes or fails.”

The majority of the recommendations came from the Marble Falls ISD Community Advisory Committee, which met on six different occasions, Gasaway said. The committee originally submitted its recommendations to the board during its regular meeting Dec. 16.

“(It’s) a recommendation that has some additions,” Gasaway said to board members. “(There are) a few people in the room that are like ‘I don’t remember that.'”

Gasaway said the school district will host community events where residents can ask questions and learn more. He said he will talk to civic organizations and the like throughout the different cities that Marble Falls ISD serves.