COUPLAND ISD
COUPLAND — The Coupland Independent School District board has approved a guaranteed maximum price of $20.9 million to construct a new middle school.
Weaver & Jacobs Constructors during a special board meeting Sept. 3 presented to trustees a base bid of $20.6 million and options for contractors, construction alternates and cost reductions.
“Ultimately, it’s you as a school board that need to make the decisions because this is y’all’s building,” said Brendan Morris, an estimator at Weaver & Jacobs Constructors. “They need to be educated decisions, and we will help y’all with that process.”
The construction company previously worked with the school district to expand its current campus, adding six classrooms, an office complex and a gymnasium using bond money from 2020, officials said.
The company used feedback from the previous project and prioritized local contractors and resources to provide recommendations to trustees during the presentation.
“Thank you so much. You did a lot of work,” trustee the Rev. Karen Holgersen said to the presenting team.
Out of the construction alternates, the board approved adding a media center to the base bid for $957,048. The center will be open to the public to follow community suggestions the board received during the bond campaign.
“We know that that’s something the community really wants,” Superintendent Earl Parcell said to the Press. “There isn’t a community center (in Coupland). … So, it meant a lot to the board.”
The board also approved $673,422 in cost reductions.
The board has $23 million available for this first phase of the middle school project out of the $56 million bond approved in 2023. Trustees still have soft costs, such as those related to architectural and engineering design, to consider that were not a part of the presented GMP.
Coupland ISD has seen exponential growth, signaling the need for the expansion, officials said. The district doubled in size from 2019 to 2022, from 102 to 204 students, and today has 285 students, according to officials.
The new middle school, to be located at 350 CR 460, will have a capacity of 150 students and core spaces with a capacity of 300.
Officials say the groundbreaking ceremony could take place in October. The school is projected to open in August 2026.
The district’s current campus, centered around Coupland School, offers education from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. Students then move on to an area school district, such as Taylor Independent School District.
