BULLARD — It has been almost three years since the voters of Bullard approved a $103 million bond that would improve facilities and expand educational opportunities in the district. With construction still underway, officials say a new Bullard Middle School is projected to be completed by August, just in time for the start of the 2025-26 school year.

“The progress is exciting,” Bullard ISD Superintendent Dr. Jack Lee said. “But the most exciting piece is knowing that we’re only a few months away from students having access to top-of-the-line facilities, the ability to come to school each and every day in a building that is brand new, that has the latest and greatest when it comes to technology, classroom furniture, all of those types of things. We’re putting the resources in the hands of our teachers and students so that they can be as successful as possible.”

Currently, the project is in the phase of electrical and plumbing installation, along with drywall work. Lee said they are approaching the stage where the building will be climatized, with air conditioning and heating units soon to be operational. Once this is completed, the focus will shift to flooring and interior fixtures.

“We’ve got architects and construction companies that have done everything possible to make everything work and we’re just kind of relying on some outside folks to be able to make some decisions and approvals and permits and things like that,” Lee said.

The new middle school building, located at 1630 FM 2493 East (southwest corner of FM 2493 and Highway 69), spans approximately 175,000 square feet. It will feature state-of-the-art classrooms for academics, special education, and career and technical education. Additional spaces will include fine arts studios for music, theatre, and art, as well as seven science labs.

“Personally, I’m most excited about our special education facilities for those students that need that extra support and that extra help or those students that are learning life skills to be successful after public school,” Lee said. “They are going to have a facility that is extremely nice.

The special education program will be able to help their students with an academic side for personalized learning and support, and then a life-skills side, which will include hands-on spaces designed to help students develop practical skills for independent living.

The building will also support a variety of extracurricular activities, featuring top-notch athletic facilities, including two gymnasiums, separate boys and girls locker rooms, and weight rooms. Outside, the campus will feature a competition turf field and track, four tennis courts, and more.

“Our middle school staff, especially our sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teachers, are pumped,” Lee said. “They’re very excited about a new facility and what that means and what they’re going to get to use as educators.”

Lee also mentioned that plans are in progress for the remaining campuses, including the relocation of the current Bullard ISD Administration building to create more space for the district’s growing staff. Additionally, there are discussions about starting a district daycare in another building. However, he said these plans are still in the works and not yet finalized.

The construction of the middle school was funded through Proposition A, a key part of the $103 million bond that passed with strong community support in May 2022. Proposition A, valued at $82 million, will also fund new additions to combine Bullard Primary and Bullard Elementary and provide much-needed renovations to the high school kitchen and cafeteria.

Proposition B, a $21 million component of the bond, funded the creation of a state-of-the-art athletic facility for the Panthers baseball, softball, and tennis teams, which opened last January. The multipurpose facility was also completed in January this year, providing additional resources for the district’s extracurricular activities.

“We were very fortunate,” Lee said. “It’s an exciting time in Bullard ISD, an exciting time for our students, for our staff… we’re very much looking forward to these new facilities.”

Project updates are typically provided each month at the Bullard ISD Board of Trustees’ regular meetings, which are held on the second Monday of each month. The next meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday, April 14 at the administration building, 1426B S Houston St. in Bullard. Project updates are also usually posted each month at www.bullardisd.net/bond2022 .