January 16, 2015 | The newest member of the Texarkana Independent School District Board of Trustees was sworn in during their January 16 Called Meeting and members heard a report on the architecture for the new Sixth Grade Center at Texas Middle School (TMS). The meeting took place at 11:30 am.
Architect Presentation
Daniel Bartlett, Principal Architect for Bartlett Architecture, presented current renderings for the design of the new Sixth Grade Center at Texas Middle School. During the November 4, 2014 elections, TISD taxpayers approved a $29.9 million effort to address current overcrowding due to enrollment increases and expected enrollment within the next five years. Bond monies will be used to construct a new Sixth Grade Center on the Texas Middle School campus and a new elementary school. Both are expected to open for the 2016-17 school year.
The TMS Sixth Grade Center will be located northeast of the current TMS campus with ingress and egress off Summerhill Road and Kennedy Lane.
A total of 65,800 square feet will house 23 student classrooms and seven student labs. Other lab areas included will be for Art, Music, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) Academy and IDEAs (Innovative Design & Exploration of the Arts) Academy along with a R&D Center/Library, Cafeteria, Kitchen and Gymnasium.
The exterior brick, metal wall panels and metal roof will have similar stylings and colors as the existing middle school building and will feature covered walks for car and bus pick-up and drop-off.
TISD anticipates breaking ground on the Sixth Grade Center in early April 2015. The construction period is estimated for 12-months with students starting classes at the new facility in Fall 2016.
Bowers Oath of Office
Additionally, Amy Bowers took the Oath of Office as a new Trustee member after being unanimously named in December 2014 as the replacement to serve out the remainder of Jerry Chapman’s term for District 4. Chapman resigned in June 2014 due to unforeseen family circumstances. Bowers is the mother of a future Tiger graduate, Madison, who is in the 7th Grade at Texas Middle School and currently is Vice President of Innovation for TEXAR Federal Credit Union.
