Back to the drawing board for Pottsboro Independent School District

Back to the drawing board for Pottsboro Independent School District

Pottsboro, Texas

School busesThere is no doubt that Pottsboro school district needs new facilities for the bus barn. The current barn is over 70 years old and can hold only one bus.

Last fall a proposal was made to expand the facility on the Pottsboro Independent School District   grounds which included a new road connecting to an adjacent neighborhood.  In addition to providing access to the new bus bard, the road would help ease traffic congestion in the pickup and drop off area of the elementary, intermediate and middle schools. It would also increase traffic in the neighboring subdivision. Area residents were adamantly opposed to the plan citing concern over increased traffic which they felt would endanger the children who walk to school from the neighborhood.

Pottsboro Independent School District then contracted with the owner of a vacant shopping center on Highway 120 to convert the old David’s grocery store site into a new administration building and bus barn at a renovation cost of about $2.5 million. The money would come out of the school’s saving account, so there will be no increase for tax payers.

The shopping center parking lot would provide plenty of space to park the school busses when not in use. It was hoped that the highly visible location could cut back on vandalism. It is unfortunately, this visibility that is causing uproar. Many of the residents of the neighborhood across the street from the shopping center feel the parked school busses would be unsightly and affect their property values. In the end, the expense of renovating the facility was outside the school district budget.

In an effort to bring harmony to the community, County Commissioner Bart Lawrence announced that Grayson County would donate about four acres to Pottsboro schools for the bus barn. The property is located off 996, just outside the Pottsboro city limits. Superintendent Dr. Kevin Matthews and the Pottsboro Independent School District school board decided this really wasn’t a good option. After opposition from the neighborhoods adjacent to the shopping center, and a review of the structural reports on the building and the additional expense that would be incurred, the school board decided not to go forward with this proposal.

It seems that the new bus barn will be located on property the school already owns. The issue has been sent back to the task force for further review. Stay tuned, this issue has not gone away.