West Hardin County CISD Facility Advisory Committee Meeting
Oct. 24, 2022 | WHCCISD Cafeteria | 6:30—8:30 pm
Meeting #3 Minutes
Attendees: West Hardin CCISD: Dr. Jim Armstrong, superintendent; Carl Price, board member
Claycomb Associates: Will Clayton, Kim Hocott
SAMCO Capital Markets: Duane Westerman, Nick Westerman
Committee Members: Ben Campbell, Bill Campbell, Teresa Camp, Hunter Coutee, Derek Evers, Charla Griffin, John Leslie Hancock, Leisha Marshall, James Merrifield, Jennifer Price, Christi Silcox, Elizabeth Smith, Michael Smith, George Taylor, Kevin Vanya, Jana Watson, Rusty Wells
Board member Carl Price called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. He welcomed members and expressed the importance of tonight’s meeting as the committee will review the financial side of facility upgrades.
Kim Hocott shared the objectives for tonight’s meeting and provided an overview of how the meeting would be run.
Ms. Hocott provided an overview of school finance and how facilities are funded. She reviewed the district’s current tax rate and looked at the tax rate for other area school districts.
Duane Westerman, the district’s financial advisor, explained West Hardin CCISD’s bonding capacity. He provided different bond amount scenarios and explained the I&S tax impact for each.
Ms. Hocott reviewed the committee’s project priorities and rankings from the previous meeting. Based on priorities set by the committee during the previous meeting, Will Clayton shared the anticipated
budget cost for the top priorities as ranked by the committee.
Ms. Hocott had committee members break up into four groups and committee members used project cost information, along with bonding capacity and tax impact, to re-prioritize projects.
1 = Must Do
2 = Should Do
3 = Not for consideration at this time
Ms. Hocott will take the results and tabulate them for presentation and discussion at the next meeting.
Mr. Clayton will provide facility master plan scenarios for the committee to consider at the next meeting.
The committee asked further questions of Duane Westerman regarding potential ballot language and tax impact for various bond amounts. Mr. Westerman said he would consult bond counsel regarding ballot language and that will be discussed by the board should they call a bond election.
Carl Price closed the meeting by thanking everyone and encouraging them to come back with a friend.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
West Hardin County CISD Facility Advisory Committee Meeting
Oct. 10, 2022 | WHCCISD Cafeteria | 6:30—8:30 pm
Meeting #2 Minutes
Attendees: West Hardin CCISD: Dr. Jim Armstrong, superintendent; Carl Price, board member
Claycomb Associates: Richard Bain, Will Clayton, Kim Hocott
Committee Members: Amanda Brackin, Colten Brackin, Sandra Blackmon, Ben Campbell, Bill Campbell, Teresa Camp, Charlie Caruthers, Hunter Coutee, Nikki Gilpin, Charla Griffen, John Leslie Hancock, Katherine Loftin, Leisha Marshall, James Merrifield, Jennifer Price, Velisha Shoats, Christi Silcox, Elizabeth Smith, Michael Smith, George Taylor, Kevin Vanya, Jana Watson, Rusty Wells, Kristen White
Board member Carl Price called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. He introduced new members and gave a quick review of the first meeting and tour.
Kim Hocott shared the objectives for tonight’s meeting and provided an overview of how the meeting would be run.
Dr. Jim Armstrong “Cleared the Parking Lot” by going over answers to questions asked at the last meeting.
Dr. Jim Armstrong gave a brief State of the District, touching on the following:
Will Clayton gave a brief summary of the Facilities Study, conducted about a year ago and presented to the WHCCISD Board. Some committee members were concerned that they didn’t know everything noted in the study, so Will agreed to send the document electronically to Dr. Armstrong to post on the website.
Click here for the WH FACILITY STUDY
Richard Bain and Kim Hocott had committee members break up into 5 groups and prioritize their facility concerns with the following guidelines:
1: Things we must do
2: Things we should do
3. Things we would like to do
4. Things for future consideration
Ms. Hocott will take the results and tabulate them for presentation and discussion at the next meeting.
Carl Price closed the meeting by thanking everyone and encouraging them to come back with a friend.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:07 p.m.
West Hardin Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) Meeting
Sept. 19, 2022 | WHCCISD Cafeteria | 6:30—8:30 pm
Meeting #1 Minutes
Attendees: West Hardin CCISD: Dr. Jim Armstrong, superintendent; Carl Price, board member
Claycomb Associates: Kim Hocott, Richard Bain
Committee Members: Jason Berry, Colten Bracken, Amanda Brackin, Michelle Brothers, Jonathan Brothers, Ben Campbell, Deonna Campbell, Bill Campbell, Teresa Campbell, Charlie Caruthers, Hunter Cortez, Jack Dula, Kaitlynn Ester, Derek Evers, Chelsea Freeman, Charla Griffin, John Leslie Hancock, Danny Kile, Leisha Marshall, James Merrifield, Jennifer Price, D'Wanna Rasnick, Velisha Shoats, Christi Silcox, James Smith, Elizabeth Smith, George Taylor, Casey Trousdale, Kevin Vanya, Jana Watson, RC Wells, Kristen White, Daisy Wilson
Board member Carl Price called the meeting to order at 6:33 pm. He welcomed committee members and provided information as to why the committee was put in place. He stated there are changes needed to be made with facilities and this committee will facilitate the direction the district takes.
Superintendent Dr. Jim Armstrong then welcomed the group and thanked them for supporting the district. He is excited about this process and looks forward to the input received. He stressed that there were no “dumb questions.” He introduced the district personnel and students in attendance, and then had the community members give brief introductions. During introductions, community members overwhelmingly kept mentioning the need for a new Ag Bldg and Safety throughout the district. Other issues brought up included: gym updates, tennis courts, car pick-up line, electrical outlets, and transparency. Over and over, members expressed their love of West Hardin using phrases such as: Family-Oriented, Community Values, Tightly Knit, Four Towns Coming Together, Hometown Traditions, Small Community.
Dr. Armstrong introduced Claycomb Associates facilitators Richard Bain and Kim Hocott.
Richard Bain addressed the committee and explained the role that Claycomb will take as facilitators and information gatherers, but the committee itself will determine the hierarchy of needs to be brought to the board.
Kim Hocott reiterated Claycomb’s role and then walked the committee through the folder contents and an overview of tonight’s meeting. She asked committee members to take notes of facility issues/needs they see on the tour. She also made sure to point out the future meeting dates and the importance of being committed throughout the process.
Dr. Armstrong reviewed the 2016 bond list as a starting point for the facility tour. He also discussed the items that are no longer on the list as a result of repair or replacement after Hurricane Harvey. Insurance money was used for those repairs or replacements. He then began the tour of facilities.
AG BUILDING TOUR - Ag teacher Mr. James Merrifield led the tour of this facility and shared that the program currently serves 95 students. The Ag program is award-winning and a point of pride for the district
During the tour, Mr. Merrifield pointed out the following:
MIDDLE SCHOOL GYM TOUR - Athletic Director George Taylor led the tour and pointed out the following:
CAMPUS TOUR - Elementary principal Teresa Camp and Maintenance/Transportation Director Elizabeth Smith led the tour pointed out the following:
PK-1 Wing:
5th-6th Grade Wing:
2nd-3rd Grade Wing:
Middle School Wing:
The group returned to the cafeteria to wrap up the meeting. Trustee Carl Price once again expressed his appreciation to everyone for coming and encouraged everyone to come back and bring a friend or two.
Dr. Armstrong introduced another student who showed up during the tour (Kaitlynn Ester). He also reminded the committee that the Waste Water Treatment Plant was required due to TCEQ. He also mentioned the new track and elementary playground was a result of insurance money after Harvey.
Several committee members had comments following the tour, including these issues:
Dr. Armstrong reminded everyone of the upcoming meeting dates.
Dates for remaining meetings:
Monday, October 10, 2022, 6:30—8:30 pm
Facility Assessment findings and how it relates to the District’s instructional program
Monday, October 24, 2022, 6:30—8:30 pm
Financial Advisor and discussion of needs/prioritize needs
Monday, November 14, 2022, 6:30—8:30 pm
Reach agreement on proposal and draft recommendation for Board consideration
Date TBD, 6:30—8:30 pm (if needed) to finalize recommendation for Board consideration
Meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m.
Committee Handouts for 9/19/22