Commercial Roofing Contractors in Prosper, TX

PROSPER (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Prosper ISD voters are considering a $2.8 billion bond measure to build new schools, renovate older campuses, and build a new district-wide football stadium among other things.

It is all part of the Nov. 7 election, and Monday marked the first day of early voting.

New houses are continuing to pop up in Prosper ISD, and school district leaders say they need to keep up.

"We're in the middle of hypersonic growth," said Dr. Holly Ferguson, superintendent of the district. "In order to be ready for all the growth impact that is happening here, we have to be ready to build to provide high quality facilities for students and staff."

Ten years ago, the district had 6,413 students. Now, that number has leap-frogged to 28,197.

And 10 years from now, the district is projected to have 45,647 students.

Jim Bloom supports the bond measure and is among the parents who's helped plan for it. "I have a 9-year-old daughter and I would like her to have first class facilities from grade school through high school."

There are four propositions that make-up the bond.

Most of the money is for Prop A ($2.4 billion), which would include building 10 new schools, expanding and modernizing 12 existing campuses, safety and security, and buying land and buses.

If it doesn't pass, Supt. Ferguson told CBS News Texas that it will be devastating to students and teachers. "Right now, we have 134 portable classrooms in the district. There will be more portables that come in the event that voters don't approve this. We'll see teachers start leaving and we'll see families start leaving the area."

The district's communications director, Rachel Trotter, said that the long-term goal is for the district to stop using portable classrooms altogether but that depending on growth, it will take a while before all of them are gone.

Prop B ($140 million) would allow the district to upgrade technology for students and teachers.

Another part of the bond is Prop C, which would include the building of the second district-wide stadium for all the high schools at a cost of $95 million—a record amount for a school district in Texas.

It would seat 8,000 spectators and would be similar to the facility that the district opened in 2019.

Prop C would also spend $7.5 million to renovate the turf and track at the district's other existing stadiums.

Prop D ($125 million) is for a performing arts center.

Aileen Blachowski, who resides in the area, doesn't send her students to the district's schools. "I am opposed to all four measures on the bond."

She told CBS News Texas she believes the costs for the schools are simply too high. "We are growing at an unprecedented pace but so are other areas in Texas and they are able to build schools that provide learning environments that are perfectly suitable and that are at market rate. This is not a market rate. We can do better."

The superintendent said they have to account for inflation. "Prices we've never seen before; we are seeing now, and we have to be prepared for that."

For Jim Bloom, the bond makes sense in more ways than one. "It's going to help your home values, it's going to do the greater good for the community."

Early voting continues through Nov. 3.

Jack Fink

Jack Fink covers politics for KTVT-TV CBS 11 and has been with the station since September 2003.

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On Oct. 22, 2023, the Gates of Prosper will welcome a 140,000-square-foot Target — one of the largest in North Texas.

Located at Highway 380 and Preston Road, the target will create approximately 225 jobs. This location will be the 49th store in DFW, which employs approximately 9,615 team members total.

“We're excited to bring the joy of Target to new guests and help them discover a unique shopping experience tailored to the needs of the Propser community," said Stuart Newton, store director of the new Prosper Target store. “We offer a wide assortment of Target’s top owned and national brands spanning adult beverage, seasonal items and much more, as well as a convenient CVS pharmacy, Ulta Beauty and Starbucks location."

In 2016, construction began at the northern intersection of Preston Road and U.S. 380, giving rise to the Gates of Prosper shopping center. The retail development is by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ real estate company Blue Star Land. The building of the development was split into three phases — the last including Target, Outback Steakhouse and more.

Blue Star Land began the second major phase of the project in 2021. Phase two brought Kohl’s, Hobby Lobby, HomeGoods, Calloway’s and Michael’s to the northwest quadrant of Preston Road and Richland Boulevard. Now in phase three, which will bring Target, visitors can expect to see the most modern Target model. But according to The Dallas Morning News, it’s not quite the biggest. Built in 2009, the 191,000-square-foot Target at the Village at Allen on East Stacy Road takes the cake, but Target no longer makes stores that large.

The inception of the Gates of Prosper development can be traced back to the early 1990s when Cowboys' owner Jones began acquiring land for the project. During that time, the majority of the area remained agricultural.

Spanning over 500 acres, this mixed-use project is anticipated to eventually reach a total estimated value of nearly $1 billion. Additionally, the development's plans encompass the construction of 1,000 residential units, comprising apartments, single-family homes and townhouses.

But the Gates of Prosper isn’t Jones’ only development in Prosper. Local Profile previously reported Blue Star Land is in the process of building a residential and retail development surrounding the iconic silos in Prosper, Texas more than two years after acquiring the property.

The development will include “four or five hundred apartment units” and retail stores, with the silos in the center. A park is also included in the master plan with the idea of enhancing the city’s historic qualities.

PROSPER, Texas (CITC) — A Texas school district is looking to spend nearly $100 million on a new football stadium, a record-breaking amount for the state.

The Prosper Independent School District (Prosper ISD) will propose the stadium to voters on Nov. 7. The football stadium, which would be Prosper ISD's second, is one of four propositions in the district's $2.8 billion package of bond proposals.

Prosper ISD is seeking $102,425,000 for the proposal, with $94 million going towards the stadium. The remaining funds would be used for renovations at existing athletic facilities, according to a bond website created by the district.

The $94 million stadium would seat 8,000 spectators. Prosper ISD's existing stadium reportedly seats 12,000 and cost $53 million.

If approved, the stadium would be the most expensive school stadium ever built in Texas by $14 million, according to The Dallas Morning News.

READ MORE | EXCLUSIVE: Texas school district denies public access to SEL curriculum, cites 'copyright' protection

Prosper ISD is pushing for the construction of the stadium, as well as the other three propositions, due to the district's recent explosive growth. Nearly 21,000 new homes have been built in Prosper ISD's territory since 2016, according to the district.

"When our current senior class was entering kindergarten, Prosper ISD had only 3,000 students," the district's bond website reads. "We’ve added 25,000 since then."

The potential use of taxpayer funds has sparked debate among Prosper ISD parents and residents on social media, with some calling the price tag "borderline obscene."

"But yet, they can't afford to pay the teachers a living wage," Penny Jones said. "Tell us football matters more than education in Texas without actually saying it!!"

"Yet Texas doesn't dump that kind of insane money into EDUCATION," Laurie Hunchar added. "Just football."

A study published Monday found that Texas leads the nation in average starting teacher salaries.

READ MORE | Texas school board member calls for teachers to make $100k during Crisis in the Classroom panel

In a school choice discussion hosted by Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) last month, Texas State Board of Education member Staci Childs called for teachers to earn more than $100,000 annually. She argued that educators feel "dignified" to teach when they are paid more.

During the same discussion, Childs later admitted that when she taught fifth grade, most of her students were unable to read.

Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) reached out to Prosper ISD for comment, but did not receive a response prior to publication. This story will be updated if a response is received.

The district's second proposed high school stadium is part of its four-proposition bond package, totaling $2.8 billion.

PROSPER, Texas — Editor's note: The video published above is a WFAA report from August on the growth of Prosper ISD.

There's no doubt: Texas loves its football. So, on the surface, a bond election including a $94 million price tag for a second high school stadium isn't entirely shocking to read, given the culture of the Lone Star State.

Yes, the price tag would make it the "most expensive in Texas history." That's true. But according to district spokesperson Rachel Trotter, there is much more to the story than "building a new football stadium." Trotter told WFAA over the phone this is not just a football stadium, but rather "the district's largest classroom."

Trotter noted there is numerous other benefits to the stadium and uses of it:

And the price needs context, too, Trotter said.

The $94 million tag is a projection of the price to build the stadium, accounting for inflation and construction costs at the time the project would start, which Trotter estimated to be 15% and 30% increases relative to the price in 2023, respectively. The stadium, if approved, wouldn't start construction for another three to five years and is planned to be located at the district's fourth high school, which is set to open in 2025. Trotter said both inflation and construction costs have gone up post-pandemic.

Prosper ISD is the fastest growing school district in North Texas, which brings up another important contextual point.

Trotter told WFAA that in 2002, the district had less than 1,000 students and only three campuses. Ten years later, those metrics grew to 5,500 students and seven buildings. By 2022, Prosper ISD housed 25,000 students and 21 campuses. The district added another 3,000-plus students, totaling 28,200 students, and four more schools in 2023. By 2025, Prosper ISD will open two more middle schools (Daniel L. Jones Middle School and Moseley Middle School), its 18th elementary school (Betty Jackson Elementary School) and the fourth high school (Richland High School).

Prosper's population has grown from 3,000 in 2002 to just under 38,000 in 2023. With the population growth, a majority of the new infrastructure, according to Trotter, has been residential. And thus, the district's schools and stadiums have served as venues needed to host community events throughout the year.

The growth is also prevalent in another piece of the district's four-proposition, $2.8 billion bond package. Proposition A, if approved, would add six new elementary schools, a second Early Childhood School, two more middle schools, a fifth high school, complete Richland High School and make upgrades to 12 of the pre-existing campuses (eight elementary schools and four middle schools).

The district opened its first high school stadium, 12,000-seat Children's Health Stadium, in 2019 after it was passed with 85% bond approval, Trotter said.

With a second high school stadium, all of the district's high schools would rotate playing at both, rather than having a designated "home field" for certain schools, according to Trotter.

Prop A – $2,439,575,000

Prop B – $140,000,000

Prop C – $102,425,000

Prop D – $125,000,000

Due to new legislative requirements on all ballot propositions, voters will see this language: “This is a property tax increase.” The district, on its website, said the bond propositions will not lead to a new tax increase because it is already at maximum level for outstanding debt. The website continues to say the bonds will not be paid by most taxpayers because their cost is covered by growth of increased taxable income from new construction, an expanded commercial tax base, new homes and growth on existing property.

At $94 million, the proposed high school stadium in Prosper would be the most expensive in the state. Here are how the price tags ranked as of this writing. It is important to note these were the prices when each respective stadium was built. To Trotter's point, inflation and construction costs have risen since these stadiums were built.

More Texas headlines:

On Oct. 22, 2023, the Gates of Prosper will welcome a 140,000-square-foot Target — one of the largest in North Texas.

In 2016, construction began at the northern intersection of Preston Road and U.S. 380, giving rise to the Gates of Prosper shopping center. The retail development is by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ real estate company Blue Star Land. The building of the development was split into three phases — the last including Target, Outback Steakhouse and more.

Blue Star Land began the second major phase of the project in 2021. Phase two brought Kohl’s, Hobby Lobby, HomeGoods, Calloway’s and Michael’s to the northwest quadrant of Preston Road and Richland Boulevard.

Now in phase three, which will bring Target, visitors can expect to see the most modern Target model. But according to The Dallas Morning News, it’s not quite the biggest. Built in 2009, the 191,000-square-foot Target at the Village at Allen on East Stacy Road takes the cake, but Target no longer makes stores that large.

The inception of the Gates of Prosper development can be traced back to the early 1990s when Cowboys' owner Jones began acquiring land for the project. During that time, the majority of the area remained agricultural.

Spanning over 500 acres, this mixed-use project is anticipated to eventually reach a total estimated value of nearly $1 billion. Additionally, the development's plans encompass the construction of 1,000 residential units, comprising apartments, single-family homes and townhouses.

But the Gates of Prosper isn’t Jones’ only development in Prosper. Local Profile previously reported Blue Star Land is in the process of building a residential and retail development surrounding the iconic silos in Prosper, Texas more than two years after acquiring the property.

The development will include “four or five hundred apartment units” and retail stores, with the silos in the center. A park is also included in the master plan with the idea of enhancing the city’s historic qualities.