Posted 1:27 am Sunday, May 06, 2012
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Tyler ISD Board To Talk Coach Monday
By EMILY GUEVARA
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Selecting a head football coach/campus coordinator for John Tyler High School could come as early as Monday.
TISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said the district conducted interviews last week and was confident that a candidate would be brought forward to the board for vote.
The board is scheduled to meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the Dr. Jack L. Davidson Conference Center in the Jim Plyler Instructional Complex, 807 W. Glenwood Blvd.
Reid declined to go into the specifics about the interview process saying that information would be presented during the meeting.
TISD began looking for a new coach after former head coach Dereck Rush left last month to take the head coaching job at Conroe ISD's Oak Ridge High School. Rush had served as John Tyler's head football coach for five years, leading the Lions to the Class 4A state semifinals last year after back-to-back appearances in the state quarterfinals. Prior to his time as head coach, he served as an assistant for four years (2003-06).
In other business, the board will consider authorizing the district to enter into contract negotiations with Corgan Associates and Sinclair & Wright Architects. The district already is under contract with Corgan Associates, an architectural design firm, for long-range planning. The company would join with Sinclair & Wright Architects, a local firm, to plan and design an Advanced Technology and Career Center for TISD.
The building is expected to be included in an upcoming bond election that the district could call for as early as November.
Reid said by moving ahead with the planning and design phase the district would be able to move more quickly if and when voters approve a bond package. He said the community has strongly supported the idea of building a technology and career center during the district's long-range planning process, which took place in 2011.
"The earlier we get started on (the) process, the better off we're going to be and the quicker we're going to get a facility open," Reid said.
He said the more design work the district does up front the more accurate their pricing estimates will be. Although he did not have specific prices for how much the company will be paid - a contract will be brought before the board at a later date - he said the money will come out of existing bond money that went unused on other projects.
"We can't stand still on our planning," Reid said. "We feel like we have to continue to move. We have no one, even those who have been negative toward what we've done in the past, no one has expressed concern about the (career and technology) center concept."
The board also will consider approving John Tyler High School track and field improvements. The improvements come after the board last month approved upgrades to Trinity Mother France Rose Stadium. Those upgrades will render the Rose Stadium track useless for UIL competition and, more specifically, the annual Earl Campbell/Emma Barrett Relays.
Reid previously said that John Tyler's track and field facilities could be upgraded to serve UIL track and field competitions and the relays in the coming years.
The board last month authorized Reid to move forward with planning and designing for the track and field upgrades and, on Monday, contracts will be presented for board approval so vendors can start ordering materials for the upgrades.
The cost of the materials would be about $735,000 for three vendors combined. These include materials for the track, lighting and bleachers.
Additional costs are expected in the coming months and the project likely will cost more than $1 million in all.
"We're trying to do our best to have the facility up and running and ready to operate before next track season," Reid said.
Finally, the board will be approving a date to conduct the official canvass for the May 12 election, even though the TISD election was canceled because neither race was contested.
Single member districts 5 and 7 were available on the seven-member board and one person filed for each position. Brad Spradlin filed to retain his District 5 seat while Andy Bergfeld, who previously served on the school board, filed for the District 7 seat, being vacated by Ron Vickery. Reid said a date for their swearing in has not yet been set.
The board also will hear and/or discuss reports about transportation performance measures, the school district's budget, and a YouTube policy change.
Staff Writer Harold Wilson contributed to this report.
