GISD groundbreaking for new CTE center will be May 16

Gonzales ISD will celebrate the groundbreaking of its new Career & Technical Education (CTE) Center at 10 a.m. Friday, May 16, at the center site, 2459 County Road 239A, Gonzales. Light refreshments will be provided.

In March, GISD trustees locked in a guaranteed maximum price of $19,523,596 for construction the new CTE center and Ag barn facility by Weaver & Jacobs, the construction manager at risk (CMAR) for the district’s 2023 bond program. The collective base bid from the subcontractors for everything needed to construct the facilities came out to $19,173,278 and there were three alternate bids totaling $350,318.

The total bid also includes about $1,175,000 in allowances for planned work items and contingencies for unforeseen items to enable the project to proceed with minimum disruption. Any unused money from this allowance remains with the school district.

The total size of the CTE building was increased from its original proposed size of 26,000 square feet to 31,782 square feet to accommodate an auto technology space the board had discussed wanting during schematic design that staff worried would require the district to dip into its operational funds to the tune of an additional $2 million. Instead, all costs are being covered by bond proceeds and interest earned from them.

In November 2023, GISD voters narrowly passed a $50.6 million measure to pay for the new CTE and Ag facilities as well as for renovations and upgrades, especially for safety and security as well as infrastructure improvements, at all five school campuses, the administration building, maintenance and transportation.