The district’s most recent long range planning effort came to its conclusion on Jan. 8 as the Pilot Point ISD board received a report on the process from several committee members during its meeting.
The planning committee, consisting of district stakeholders, community leaders, residents, business leaders and select students, worked to develop a roughly $27 million bond issue, which the committee advised the board to bring to the community in November of 2025.
“For those who may be wondering, this is for a new elementary school that would be located in Mobberly Farms,” committee representative Lacrica Olson said. “The Pilot Point ISD Bond Planning Committee recommends the Pilot Point Board of Trustees call a bond election for Nov. 4, 2025. The committee had a pretty robust discussion on whether May was too soon, and the information could be put out there and also looking at the political climate.”
PPHS senior Kaylen Stewart, joined by a pair of eighth graders who shared many of her sentiments, Julises Najera and Leah Tavera, opened the presentation with their thoughts.
“I’ve been a student at Pilot Point my whole life and have seen the schools throughout that time,” Stewart said. “Many of the classes have felt like they were bursting at the seams with teachers needing to find extra desks or move things just to fit all the students. While we aren’t at the max capacity for our schools yet, it feels as though we are.”
Mobberly Farms resident William Harrison addressed the board regarding the bond earlier in the meeting.
“There are two issues that were brought up and discussed during the meetings that I’m very concerned about,” Harrison said. “I learned at the meetings that the elementary school and the early education building ... cannot withstand the 250 mile an hour winds required when you are building modern buildings. I want y'all to please consider if there is any way possible to get these two projects done for the safety of the kids.”
Later in the meeting, the board approved its 2025-26 calendar.
“A couple of drafts were created, which went out to all stakeholders, the community, staff, anyone who would like to participate, to gather additional feedback,” Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Alicia Bonnett said. “We’re kind of excited that 467 community members gave input on the calendars.”
Fifty-three percent preferred option 2 for the calendar, which features a teacher workday on homecoming, a fall break tied into Thanksgiving to maintain a full week off and the teachers returning to work on July 30.
“When you look at fitting the 187 days [we have to have], there are only so many ways to slice and dice them to make it fit,” Bonnett said. “Giving that entire week of Thanksgiving off, those other days had to fall somewhere. When you’re bound by state regulation, there are only so many ways we can change it up.”
The board was open to trying the new homecoming plan, though board member Coby Chandler encouraged staff to find a solution for students who would not be able to drive themselves up to school for the parade.
He suggested a bus route. “I’d hate for those trailers to get thinned up because of it,” Chandler said.
Board member Mandy Kirby abstained from the vote after expressing concerns regarding the voting method, saying she’d heard people could vote more than once on the surveys.
She declined to comment further.
