CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — CCISD is just one of the 17 Coastal Bend school districts with candidates or propositions on the ballot in November.
The district's bond package includes a plan to build additional gymnasiums, which officials say is an idea whose time has come.
The weather outside is a good example of some of the reasoning behind doubling gymnasium space at two local middle schools.
During a recent presentation to CCISD employees, superintendent Roland Hernandez explained the need to double the gym size at both Dorothy Adkins and Robert Driscoll middle schools.
"When we first built Adkins Middle School, the prototype then was to include just one gymnasium," he said. "But over time, because they have so many kids with A teams, B teams, C teams, boys and girls, basketball, volleyball -- anything that requires indoor practice time. And then if it's bad weather that kids can't get outside for outdoor sports, they bring them inside, too."
As part of the $220 million school bond that goes before voters in November, each of the two schools will get a gym expansion that will cost almost $6.5 million each.
The proposal also includes funds for two new middle schools, renovations to one elementary school, playgrounds and new signs.
Hernandez said that just after Adkins was built, designs for schools were updated to include double the gym space.
"Since that time, all of our new middle schools have two gyms," he said. "And we went back two bonds ago and put in an additional gym at Kaffie Middle school and at Grant Middle School, and they've made the biggest difference."
Hernandez went on to point out how parents had to make special efforts to bring their kids to school outside class hours for athletic time just like he did.
"I had to bring him up at 6 in the morning just to get some basketball practice time," he said. "We had some parents bringing their kids later in the evening. Then some got practice time during the day. Then, we even put basketball goals on the tennis courts just to give them more hard-court surface to practice. So we would do that at Adkins and we would do that at Driscoll Middle School."
School officials emphasized the $220 million bond contains no increase in taxes.