ROCKDALE, Texas — Rockdale resident Brooksy Fisher used to walk the halls of Rockdale Junior High School years ago.
She still remembers her locker combination and painting the cafeteria's large-scale tiger mural on the ceiling tiles.
She says the mural is yellowed now as a school counselor and a parent to an eighth grader, but the school still looks the same from the brown tile to the blue lockers.
"This is exactly how it looked when I attended it from 97' to 99'," Fisher said.
But soon, it won't.
Citizens voted to approve a $30 million bond in May that would allow the district to renovate its campuses in exchange increasing the property tax rate.
The Board of Trustees met in a special meeting Monday afternoon to discuss improvements to its elementary and high school, unanimously approving a guaranteed maximum price contract.
It set a cost limit to repave and expand the parking lots, expand drop-off and pick-up areas and add extra security.
EBCO contractors would have to pay for any additional costs.
Architect Lance Melton says the junior high school project is the most "substantial" of the two.
But it's still in the design phase.
"The junior high is still in design and so that construction bid will be issued in January, and we'll know the numbers in February, but that will be a substantial renovation and addition to the entire campus," Melton said.
They plan to expand the library, renovate the gym, art room and band hall, and add more cafeteria lines and make it more accessible according to ADA guidelines.
They also plan to add a vestibule for the front office for more security and eight new classrooms.
Fisher says the school needs it since student population is growing, referring to the addition of new subdivisions.
"We are kind of busting at the seems as it is — kind of doubling up in places," she said.
But she is feeling a bit nostalgic.
After all, the school has remained the same since the 1980s.
But she's excited to see some change, especially to the gym, so students like her daughter won't have to walk back and forth from the high school to practice.
"Everything just needs to be updated," she said. "There’s just a lot of unused areas that used to be used but it's not really something that can be used now."
Crews are setting up portables by the school and will make progress during the school's winter break, but the project should be complete by the 2025 school year.