THRALL ISD
Buses need to be replaced
THRALL — Interest earned from $3 million of remaining 2022 bond money will be used to fund campus-improvement projects in the Thrall Independent School District, officials said.
During the Nov. 19 school board meeting, trustees approved the purchase of two new school buses, an updated track and new stadium lighting and bleachers for the football stadium.
“We hope to have this in place for graduation. Every bit of it,” said Superintendent Tommy Hooker.
The district’s business manager Blake Schneider presented a breakdown
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It’s going to come with a cost.”
— Superintendent Tommy Hooker of the schools’ buses, including ages, routes and mileage, and why the purchase of new vehicles was a priority.
Two of Thrall’s current fleet do not have air conditioning and most of them do not have seat belts.
Under state Senate Bill 546 which passed in June, Texas schools are required to have seat belts in all buses by 2029. To outfit the district’s current buses with seat belts the cost is around $30,000 total, Schneider told trustees.
More buses will be needed in the future as the district grows, but that’s a topic the school board can revisit, Schneider noted.
Regarding the football stadium’s new bleachers, some discussion centered around what color the new risers should be. The current risers are purple to match Thrall’s colors. Hooker suggested buying standard silver bleachers instead and board Vice President Rodrigo Reyes agreed.
“When you’re on the field looking at the bleachers, the purple has faded pretty badly. They almost look lavender,” Reyes said.
Hooker said they could choose purple, but in a few years, those will be bleached by the Texas sun again.
“And we’ll be right back where we are now,” Hooker said.
Trustees opted to purchase the galvanized silver risers.
“Our next thing is to get a mile- or a mile-and-a-half-long trail carved out around school property,” Hooker said.
A walking trail has been mentioned by Hooker in previous meetings with the Thrall Community Education Fund potentially paying for part of the project.
“It’s going to come with a cost,” Hooker noted.
The superintendent said the trail would be a safe place for older students to use during athletics classes and for younger pupils to enjoy the outdoors.
However, the trail could also be open to the community on weekends and when school is not in session.
The next board meeting is 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at 601 S. Bounds St.
