Throughout the 2019-2020 year Jackson Construction finished work on the latest improvements and renovations to facilities for the high school. The construction finished during the summer and over a thousand students came to experience the new facilities in person this fall.
“We’ve done a good job and I think our community is proud of the product ,and so I think that’s part of the reason they keep supporting us,” Superintendent Stan Surratt said. “To have a community that has never failed us and have always supported their school district is something we all should be very proud of.”
The story of the bond begins as early as fourteen years ago in 2007 when overcrowding led to the passage of the biggest bond in school history in 2009 and the creation of an additional campus in 2011. In the decade following, continued growth and expansion of Lindale resulted in a new $32.4 million bond passed in 2018 seeking to provide better educational facilities for students.
“Lindale has been growing for thirty to forty years and will continue to have great growth,” Surratt said. “This bond has been one of ongoing planning for several decades to address this growth that will continue over the next several years.”
The growth of students significantly affected the high school. The massive influx has led to cramped and crowded hallways, a lack of classroom space, and a loss of overall productivity.
“Prior to completion of construction, our campus had several teachers sharing classroom space due to recent growth,” principal Jeremy Chilek said. “Our new classroom wing has allowed each teacher on our campus to have their own space, which allows for proper planning and improved instruction.”
The most recent bond added a new auxiliary gym, a multi-purpose activity center that the band and athletics use for practice, a new steel barn for FFA, and an entirely new two-story wing to the high school with 23 new classrooms. Along with these new facilities, renovations to old facilities increased the sizes of hallways and cafeterias, refloored gyms, and increased parking space across the district.
“The MAC [Multipurpose Activity Center] has been astronomically helpful for band rehearsal,” senior Kelsey Schwartz said. “It gives us a space where we can march on the same turf and foundation that we will march on during contest and football games which the past few years of marching in the parking lot, while close, can not come close to truly matching.”
One of the largest renovations came not at the high school but down the road. Eagle Stadium was affected heavily by the bond, switching the home and visitor sides and and expanding each side of the stadium.
“I really truly believe it is one of the most beautiful and best athletic stadiums in East Texas,” Surratt said. “Older people and long time Lindale fans enjoyed being on the old home side and to finally be able to flip it back and to expand the seating capacity to 8500 is so special.”
In the future, the district will likely soon see a new bond election that will add an entirely new campus and improvements across the district. Details will be posted on the Eagle Eye as more information comes about this bond in the future, but according to the administration, there will likely be no tax increase.
“The next one we’re planning now will be several years from now,” Surratt said. “I truly believe we’ll have a bond election where we will not increase the tax rate and that truly is a result of a community who has supported us for the past several decades with massive economic growth and expansion.”
