LONGVIEW, Texas — Students at Pine Tree ISD could get upgrades to their campuses if locals approve district's $55 million bond.
Under the bond, a new CTE (career and technology education) building will be built at the high school.
Inside the classroom are several tools that prepare students with the skills they need to be successful in the workforce.
"Everything we do in the classroom correlates with what they’re going to do in the outside world," said Chuck Davis, Pine Tree High School construction teacher.
Davis teaches many classes within the CTE department, including beginners’ construction. To effectively continue his teaching Davis said he needs more room for his students to work in. Right now, they’re in a building that has outgrown the CTE program.
"The main struggle I would say is space. Overlapping space where one class may be learning about sheetrock where the next class may be working on a small cutting board project or something else," Davis said.
Pine Tree ISD’s bond plans to solve that issue by building a new CTE building.
"We don’t really have a place to build. So what we’re looking to do is move our baseball field next to our softball field. That would provide a space where we could put up a new career and tech building," said Steve Clugston, Pine Tree ISD superintendent.
For Davis, this bond would open the door that would enhance his real-world teaching.
"A separate classroom from the workshop allows us to learn and teach the technical skills in the classroom and then move that into the workshop where they can put their hands on those same skills," Davis said.
A new CTE building is just part of what the bond will cover. Renovations and additions are in the plans for campuses like Parkway Elementary and Birch Elementary.
"You look at the life span of them you can’t do all the work in one," Clugston said.
The junior high would also turn an old wood shop into a CTE lab where students can experience what a high school CTE class would be like.
If the bond passes, this would be phase one of the district’s long-term renovation plans. Phase two is planned for 2030.
The Gregg County Elections Office said that compared to 2021, early voting numbers are almost four times as high. Early voting has started and will continue through Nov. 3, while Election Day will be on Nov. 7.
For more information about the Pine Tree ISD's bond, click here.