Pleasant Grove High School's Hawk Stadium will soon have new field turf, as trustees agreed during Thursday's regular meeting to have an Austin-based company to replace it in time for summer practices.
At $348,050, Hellas Construction Inc. made the lowest of four bids sent to the district. That amount includes the turf, installation of the SF matrix synthetic turf system and removal of the old turf.
PGISD Superintendent Dr. Todd Williams contacted an industry expert for advice on which bids should be considered. Roland Kunkel advised the district to ensure they receive complete specifications from the bidders, including toxicology reports on the infill material to be used and estimated G-max values upon completion.
"This is the company that put in Arkansas High's turf," Williams said. "They've also done Cowboys Stadium and Baylor Stadium."
Hellas' proposal includes an eight-year warranty. The board agreed to the purchase with the provision that the district's lawyers review the warranty.
Trustees also approved the district's official shared vision, mission statement and strategic goals. Administrators, staff and the community have been working together in several meetings to establish these with the guidance of a Texas Association of School Boards facilitator.
The mission statement is as follows: The mission of Pleasant Grove Independent School District, in collaboration with the community, is to empower students through experiential learning to successfully navigate the opportunities of a competitive and complex world.
Board member Robert Sheppard questioned one of the strategic goals concerning facilities, which states: Build community support to provide well-maintained quality facilities that promote positive student learning outcomes.
"This sentence, the folks at the strategic planning, who worked on that part?" he asked.
Williams said it was a group project, and there was a lot of discussion on that.
"One individual in particular really kind of had a lot to say about that that," Williams said of a community member who was vocal during a planning meeting. "Mr. Sheppard, that's just what was agreed upon."
The board agreed to buy 135 new uniforms for the band at a cost of $77,547.67 from DeMoulin Bros. Band Director Mark Windham said the current uniforms were reaching the end of their lives, but that wasn't the only reason they were needed now.
"The major problem is that our band program has grown in size," Windham said. "This coming year, it will be the biggest band in Pleasant Grove history, right at upward of 115 if everyone stays. We won't be able to outfit the band this coming year with the uniforms we have."
Windham said the design is very simple and will remain in style throughout the life of the uniforms. They are primarily black, which Windham said is slimming, and the color will definitely stand out at band competitions.
"I think it will make us look a little mean," he said.
Summer course offerings were also approved and include all core courses, plus Spanish, to be offered for credit recovery. Credit acceleration courses include speech, foundations of personal fitness and BIM. Credit recovery will require students to achieve a grade of 70 or higher, and credit acceleration classes will require scores at or above 80.
The next regular meeting will be held April 14.