It’s full speed ahead on a $5-million project to upgrade Rockdale ISD athletic facilities, including a new Tiger Field.
School trustees, meeting Monday in regular session in the Central Administration Building, okayed a plan to issue maintenance tax notes and could have the money to begin the project the second week in April.
Bids on the tax notes were opened Monday morning.
The action specifi es no tax increase with the tax rate to remain at the current $1.36.
NEW FIELD—The district has been preparing to move on the $5-million project, whose centerpiece is a new football fi eld on the same footprint as the current stadium but rotated with the fi eld to be north-south instead of east-west.
Financial advisor Lewis Wilks of U. S. Capital Advisors said tax notes bids were opened at 11:30 a.m., just six hours before Monday’s board meeting.
Wilks said low bidder was George K. Baum & Co. with a low bid of 2.790714 percent.
“That’s lower than expected,” school board president Michelle Lehmkuhl said.
The lower the bid, the more advantageous for the school district.
Wilks said bids in the area of 3-1/4 percent had been anticipated. He said there were eight bidders and the bids ranged up to 2.987 percent.
SPECS—Wilks recommended the district accept Baum’s low bid and the board quickly followed suit, unanimously.
Vote was 6-0. One trustee was absent.
Board member Raymon Puente read from the resolution to note it specifi es no change in the tax rate.
That’s because the project technically qualifi es as “maintenance,” an upgrade of current facilities and not new construction.
Funding from maintenance tax notes does not come out of the interest and sinking portion of the budget, which would require a bond issue/tax increase.
Supt. Dr. Denise Monzingo said the plan is essentially to take the money from fund balance and pay it back over a period of years.
As preferred by the RISD, Monday’s action specifi es a 12-year payback with the option to renegotiate, or repay entirely, after seven years.
Wilks said closing should be April 11 and the district should quickly have the money to proceed with the project.
The ambitious target completion date is to have the new stadium ready for use in this fall’s football season.
“We might have to change a couple of home games to road games,” she said.
HISTORIC—It’s literally a history-making project.
Rockdale’s football fi eld was constructed in 1934 when board members purchased the current land. Before then, Tiger football games were played at Fair Park.
All three of Rockdale’s state championship football teams called Tiger Field home during those seasons.
The 1955 Aycock Tigers played their state championship game at home on the fi eld, defeating West 21-7.
Tiger Field was also home to the 1976 and 2017 Rock-dale High School state championship football teams and the 1977 RHS Tiger state track champs.
The new fi eld will have an eight-lane track, new bleachers and turf will replace the current grass.
A new dressing room is also planned.
Dr. Monzingo noted artifi - cial turf replacing grass will considerably lessen maintenance.
“With the addition of soccer to RISD sports, the fi eld is now in use virtually year round,” she said.
She said plans for a new fi eld had been in the works for a long time, even before last October’s announcement that Luminant was closing its Sandow Power Plant, ending a six-decade long mining era for the Rockdale economy.
CONTRACTS—Following an executive session, board members extended contracts for a number of administrative personnel.
Those included the band director, director of educational technology, director of career and technical education, intermediate assistant principal, director of technology, director of fi nance, director of maintenance and director of transportation.
Also, the board acted on personnel contracts for the Burleson-Milam Special Services Co-Op and made one hire in that two-county cooperative organization.
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