Board discusses district facility needs, Matus appointed as trustee
Wills Point ISD Trustees held their regular monthly meeting Sept. 14, focusing on potential facility needs, specifically at both the middle and high school campuses, and appointing a new trustee to fill one of the board’s two current vacancies.
Business opened with interim Superintendent Randy Hancock and Assistant Superintendent Damon Davis each giving presentations on the middle and high school campuses and the lighting issues caused by a light pole collapse during the 2014-’15 school year.
Regarding the middle school cafeteria and high school, Hancock said, “We’ve had issues with the middle school cafeteria and some ongoing issues at the high school with structural movement.”
The district worked with WJE (Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc) an engineering firm that specializes in existing facilities and looking at potential safety issues, who reviewed both sites and found that both facilities were safe in their current condition.
Hancock added, “We are going to consider a proposal to do a little more of an extensive study at the high school to make sure there are some things in place that need to be. At this point, the bottom line is that we deal with cosmetic issues. In the middle school, you probably do not pursue long-term solutions there because quite frankly it’s an old building and there probably aren’t any long-term solutions, at least any that you’d find would probably cost you more than starting over.”
Baseball/Softball complex
Business shifted to the baseball complex at Lester Park that is used by the Wills Point Tiger baseball and Lady Tiger softball teams during their respective seasons.
A light pole collapse last season caused the ballfields to be closed for an extended stretch during the 2014-’15 school year, causing the relocation of most home games for both Tiger and Lady Tiger teams.
Hancock explained that the complex at Lester Park is a shared venture between Wills Point ISD and the City of Wills Point that each oversee two fields.
Hancock praised Davis for his efforts in coming up with a “win-win” scenario for both parties.
Davis explained that the city managed fields are not used for nighttime games and activities and raised the possibility that the city might be willing to allow the school district to repurpose the light poles from the city ran fields over to the school district run fields.
Davis added that conversations between the district and city had taken place and that the city had granted the district permission to relocate the lights.
The move would save the district the cost of purchasing three new light poles and the ability to host both baseball and softball games and tournaments in the future.
