For the 2017-2018 school year, Jill Ross and Chris duBois will serve as co-principals at Belton High School. Ross is currently the principal of Belton New Tech High School @ Waskow, and duBois has been the principal at Belton High School since 2013.

In briefing the board on the move, superintendent Susan Kincannon said it would provide additional administrative and instructional leadership for the district's largest campus.

Ross has been the principal of Belton New Tech since 2014. Prior to that, Ross was the district's executive director of special programs overseeing special education and federal programs. She has 20 years of experience in education, which includes 13 years with Belton ISD.

Last month, duBois announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.

In their first meeting since voters approved funding for a new high school, a new elementary school and two other projects, Belton ISD school board members took several steps to advance the district's long-range facilities plan.

Early in the meeting trustees voted to certify the results of the bond election held on May 6. Voters authorized the district to issue up to $149.7 million of bonds with 1,916 votes cast in favor of the proposition and 1,520 against it.

District officials expect to sell those bonds in two phases with the first $100 million sold this summer. Superintendent Susan Kincannon reported that Belton ISD's financial advisor has begun preparing for that sale and that trustees could expect to set the parameters for it in July.

Turning to the future high school, school board members authorized the purchase of 19.128 acres to expand the high school site to the west. The purchase price, which includes swapping one acre with the seller, will be approximately $407,880.

A representative of the district's architectural firm updated school board members on the schematic design process for the new high school. Located near the intersection of FM 317 and FM 2483, the 385,000 square foot building will have capacity for 2,500 students. To work with the topography of the site, the main entry for the two-story building will be on its upper level.

District officials say their goal is to offer the same educational opportunities at both the new high school and Belton High School. The draft floor plan reflects that.

The design currently includes career and technology shops for agricultural sciences, welding and construction trades as well as lab spaces for health sciences, culinary arts and digital programs. The building has competition and auxiliary gyms and an adjacent athletic complex featuring an eight-lane track, turf field, press box, ticket/concessions building, and grandstand seating for 2,000 spectators. Fine arts students will have access to a 600-seat auditorium and dedicated spaces for band, orchestra, choir, dance and visual arts. The library/digital learning center is envisioned as the building's hub.

Trustees will take action on the high school's schematic design next month. This month, they unanimously approved the schematic design submittal for the new elementary school.

The new elementary campus will have 82,300 square feet and capacity for 800 students. Located near Carriage House Drive and Poison Oak Road, it will be similar to but also reflects lessons learned from Tarver, High Point and Chisholm Trail Elementary Schools.

In the design documents, architects describe exterior spaces "with an emphasis on playscapes to provide a sense of community with the surrounding neighborhood" and common areas distributed throughout the building's interior to "maximize student engagement and activity."