Marble Falls ISD students say why items in bond package are beneficial

A kickoff party hosted by those in support of the bond package the Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees approved to present to voters was conducted March 30 at the Fresh Air and Food Park in Cottonwood Shores.

The bond package will be on the May 3 ballot.

Among the speakers were several students who told attendees why the district wide improvements the bond is addressing are important for campus life.

Taking the lead was senior middle-distance runner Tyler Hamblin, who has competed at the highest level of his sport in cross country and track and field.

“The big thing is the indoor facility,” he said, referring to proposition D and the $26,050,000 cost.

He pointed out that Burnet, Lago Vista and Manor, which are all within a 45-minute drive of Marble Falls, have their own facilities. Rain, chilly and hot weather don’t slow down those athletes, who have the option of going indoors to conduct their practices.

Hamblin noted that recent rain last week forced coaches to cancel practice one day before competition and a week before the District 24-4A meet.

“It provides the field and space for sports that don’t need the field to practice,” he said.

He noted the specs of the proposed facility at Marble Falls High School would meet the needs of just about every outdoor sport thanks to the 60-yard field, track lane, football and soccer lines, a 50-yard line for the band and Startlettes dance team, and dropdown cages for practicing hitting and pitching in baseball and softball.

It also will have an auxiliary gym and a weight room.

“I think that would benefit us,” Hamblin said. “Sports people understand the talk about bringing in the ‘w.’ We need to practice.”

While speaking with TexasChalkTalk.com, Hamblin said the facility is about many facets.

“It’s getting kids to come out,” he said. “When it’s 110 degrees, no one’s going to want to do that.”

Hamblin would know. Cross country practices begin weeks after the state track and field championships because the University Interscholastic League, the governing body of extracurricular activities among public schools, recognizes runners need more than a month to get ready for their season in the fall.

So the UIL allows cross country coaches to call and organize practices throughout the summer. While summer strength-and-conditioning programs may be optional for other fall and winter athletes, it is not for middle-distance runners.

They will have their running and lifting sessions in the mornings, usually before their peers in other sports arrive for their training sessions, in an effort to beat the Texas heat.

Hamblin has logged many miles on the Leonel Manzano Track located inside Mustang Stadium and the program’s cross country course over the years. In short, no one has the credentials nor the experience this Mustang has to answer a question.

Will the new facilities truly lead to more wins?

“It’s too early to tell,” Hamblin said, pointing out athletic director Keri Timmerman is finishing his second March wearing purple and gold and the athletic department has more new head coaches during the 2024-25 school year than it did in 2023-24.

But he did know that the coaching staff is knowledgeable and wants to give their athletes every opportunity to get better by having organized practices with clearly stated goals and that he and his athletic peers all want to have the best chance at victories. He commended Timmerman for the hires he made last year that he believes will pay off in the near future.

“We’ve had three different locker rooms in four years because we keep expanding,” Hamblin said. “I really do think the new faces will help us progress, I think we’ll get more participation.”

Senior Jimena Meza, representing the choir and band, talked about how renovating the existing auxiliary gym to turn it into the new band hall will help her members achieve greater heights than the recent history it made by advancing to the state marching contest for the first time. Her comments were about proposition A that costs $131,435,000.

Meza noted the current band hall “does not meet the needs,” pointing out it lacks multiple key components such as a dedicated space for storage and rehearsal spaces that are too small.

“We currently have two 12-by-13-foot restrooms that not only serve as restrooms but fitting and changing rooms,” she said. “There is an almost even split of 60 female and male students that use these ‘small’ restrooms as changing facilities without shelves, closet rods or lockers. This increases the risk of our uniforms being stained and or worn out. With such small changing facilities, our prep time doubles for any performance and or event.”

She added that the current band hall “lies to us acoustically,” meaning the musicians struggle to hear pitch and balance.

“A new facility that is built correctly will allow for appropriate acoustic sound that truly represents and shows what our band sounds like,” Meza said. “This will result in better training processes and overall better performance results. Approving this bond will not only be an investment to improve our facility, it’s an investment on our students’ futures.”

Freshman welder Tucker Thompson, who is a member of the program that placed third in the recent state competition, told attendees proposition A, which helps those in Career and Technical Education, will pay for extras for the program so that more students who choose welding can be better educated.

He said the current space is small for the number of student welders, and some may become discouraged and leave the program.

“I feel like people give up after one to two years. They don’t have the opportunity to get better,” Thompson said. “We have big plans in the future.”

Sixth-grader Charles Wood was the last to speak. The younger brother of freshman forward Adalynn Wood is his class’ starting quarterback and also participates in other youth sports. Wood has attended numerous weekend clinics, 7-on-7 tournaments and other football camps with his receivers all with the aim of getting better.

His class has won the last two Hill Country Youth Football league championships for their age group. He said over the years, he and his teammates have faced teams from Burnet, Lampasas, Wimberley and the surrounding area and have won. And he sees how those opponents also are improving.

“I feel like the (indoor) facility will help us get that next step,” he said. “My older sister was a second team all-district forward. With the new facilities and all that stuff, we will be better able to beat (those teams). I feel like those facilities will give us a step up and help us go the distance. When we had 7 on 7, it was raining. With an indoor facility, we’ll be a lot more efficient.”

The total bond is $172.2 million and also includes proposition B, which is aimed at technology infrastructure improvements and technology replacement.

Dr. Jeff Gasaway, MFISD superintendent, explained the State of Texas allows school districts to pay for bonds through the Interest and Sinking (INS) tax rate. But there would not be an increase to Marble Falls ISD households and would remain at the current rate of 21.53 cents.

“Whether it fails or passes,” Gasaway said.

Early voting begins April 22-29.