Bryan ISD school board members and administrators held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday afternoon for a multimillion dollar expansion of Rudder High School.
The project includes 14 more classrooms, two sets of restrooms, adding two parking lots…one that will also be used as a band practice staging area and the other for CTE students…a new marquee, additional outdoor lighting, and removing portable buildings.
Thanks to BISD for sharing summaries of speakers at the groundbreaking. Rudder junior Taylor Colvin spoke about how this will be a new source of pride for the students at Rudder. She mentioned how they love their school, and want to carry on the tradition of successful Rudder Rangers before them, and how having a new state of the art addition to learn in will only increase that pride.
Rudder volleyball coach Jacky Pence, who has worked at Rudder since it opened 14 years ago, said the addition will complement the rest of the school very well, and all of the green included throughout the addition will only further reinforce throughout Bryan that forest green means you support the Rudder Rangers.
When the project design was approved in July of 2022, the addition was expected to be completed in January of 2023…weather permitting.
The groundbreaking follows Bryan ISD board action last Tuesday modifying what will be built on newly acquired property at Leonard Road and Harvey Mitchell Parkway.
The board approved adding warehouse space and food service operations to the original plan of a new transportation and maintenance complex.
There is an estimated $2.2 million dollar additional cost to replace BISD’s central distribution center and CDC annex instead of making repairs to current buildings.
BISD facilities director Paul Buckner and chief financial officer Kevin Beesaw said they are still looking at ways to reduce expenses.
Click below for comments from the January 17, 2022 BISD school board meeting. Speakers include consulting architect Manny Torres, BISD facilities director Paul Buckner, and BISD chief financial officer Kevin Beesaw.
The estimated cost of what is now known as BISD’s transportation, maintenance, and operations building is $41.6 million dollars.
The timeline given to the BISD school board calls for construction to begin in August 2022 and be completed in October 2023, weather permitting.
