Honoring a proud past and looking forward to a promising future, Killeen ISD dedicated its “new to us” renovated administration building Friday in a festive convergence of community leaders, past and current district staff and even students.
Stretching across 128,000 square feet at 777 Twin Creek Drive in Killeen, the renovated structure consolidates 22 KISD departments that two months ago were scattered across 10 buildings.
Stepping up a long sidewalk as Killeen High School band, dance, color guard and cheerleaders performed, guests entered the newly renovated former Teleperformance and Sallie Mae center.
They made their way past a staircase and along a wide hallway dubbed “Main Street” decorated with student artwork.
At the end of the hallway, guests walked past a series of photos and text that chronicles a history from the 1800s to the present.
The large number of guests, including state and local leaders and a big group of former school board members gathered in the 250-seat boardroom that is five times larger than the previous one.
The last time KISD opened a central administration building it was 1978 and the big news was the opening of Ellison High School, the district’s second high school.
Forty-eight years later, in a ceremony livestreamed and fed into two on-site conference rooms, the event included greeters from Chaparral High School and Union Grove Middle School, along with the spirit groups from Killeen High School, the Shoemaker High School Junior ROTC color guard and its Voci della Luna choir.
Superintendent King Davis, Board President Brett Williams and Assistant Superintendent of Facilities Adam Rich all pointed out the wise stewardship of past district leaders in bringing to fruition the renovated structure that will result in long-term financial savings.
“As we know, the main thing is our students,” said Davis, noting that the more efficient central location allows easier collaboration that will benefit campuses and students.
“This would not be possible without some fiscally sound decisions made in the past as well,” the superintendent said before introducing the current seven board members and seven past trustees in the audience.
At the end of his remarks, Williams called forward the current board members and provided them plaques which they presented to the former trustees in attendance.
“Thank you for positioning us to help us make solid decisions in how we should lead,” he said addressing the past board members and leaders like former Superintendent Charles Patterson and former Chief Financial Officer Megan Bradley.
“This building creates an atmosphere to set the table for student success,” Williams said. “While the most important work will occur outside this building, the foundation and the concept of how they attack it will be done within the walls of this building.”
Rich, the district’s top administrator over facilities, thanked Bartlett Cocke General Contractors and Huckabee Architects that built and designed the $45.2 million renovation and a large group of district departments that contributed to the transition.
“There is significant consolidation of staff within one building,” said Rich. “This reduces time and cost spent traveling between buildings that is pretty much unquantifiable,” Rich said. Energy efficiencies will add to cost savings.
The transition puts into motion renovations to other administration buildings that will further increase overall efficiency and remove aging structures from the KISD inventory.
“The building represents a point in time,” said Williams. “It can’t be our defining moment. It just has to be a moment in time that represents a change that I hope will be a trajectory that we’ve never seen before in KISD.”
Photos from the ceremony are loaded on www.killeenisd.org/photos