College Station ISD Superintendent discusses bond election, district restructuring

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – On Saturday, voters in the College Station school district will have the chance to sign off on two bond propositions.

The bonds total $53 million and cover various repairs and renovations to athletics facilities at A&M Consolidated High School and College Station High School.

Proposition A is worth $40,200,000 for renovations to the A&M Consolidated High School athletic stadium and fieldhouse, plus the College Station High School athletic stadium. This item is a property tax increase.

Currently, there isn’t a girl’s locker room in Consol’s fieldhouse for female athletes to use. Athletic staff have told us girls are left to either change at the main campus, wait for space in the bathroom, or use a converted storage room underneath the stadium bleachers. That space is also utilized by boys’ soccer during home games.

Other changes would include resurfacing the tracks at both schools and adding restrooms to the College Station High School athletic stadium.

Proposition B is worth $13,270,000 for renovation to the A&M Consolidated High School baseball/softball stadiums plus the College Station High School softball/baseball stadiums. This would also be a property tax increase.

This is the third time these athletics bonds have been presented to voters, who rejected the proposals twice, including last November.

College Station Superintendent Dr. Tim Harkrider joined News 3 at Six to discuss the bond election and misconceptions about restructuring coming to the district.

One argument some voters have is that they would rather money go towards academics and teachers, rather than sports. Harkrider explained the budgets for operations and salaries are separate from the money that would be for athletic improvements.

“There’s two different pots of money that cannot be intermixed,” said Harkrider.

The district has made headlines recently after announcing plans for restructuring next school year. The changes are impacting staff called “interventionists.”

Intervention programs are designed to give students extra support to succeed. Students in this program were pulled out of class for one-on-one or small-group instruction. The district says this work will now be done by teachers in the classroom.

“We feel like we can better support our students, as well as our teachers with a different model that actually doesn’t require as many staff members. So it’s going to be a more effective model, less money overall,” said Harkrider. “We’re digging in just like every other school district of where we can save money because it’s gonna be a tough year for sure.”

Following the announcement, there were rumors that the restructuring meant layoffs.

“Everybody that’s under contract right now for 2024-25 will have a role in our school district next year,” Harkrider clarified. “So there’s zero layoffs.”

The staff affected by the restructuring will have the opportunity to take on new roles in the district. Officials have confirmed interventionists taking new positions will have their salaries and benefits align with what they were earning before. Three of these specialists are retiring, and the district has confirmed their positions will not be filled.

Harkrider says the changes will not impact Gifted & Talented students or students who receive special education services.

Watch the full interview with Dr. Harkrider in the player above.

Election Day is Saturday, May 4. More information about voting is available here.

Learn more about the bond propositions here.

More information on the staffing changes is available here.