VISD acquires former Capital One Bank building

The Vidor Independent School District has purchased the former Capital One Bank building to be used as the school district’s administration building for a purchase price of $950,000. According to Vidor I.S.D. Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jay Killgo, the Vidor I.S.D. School Board of Trustees, during a special meeting on June 9, 2020 gave the Superintendent authority to close on the property and to sign the legal documents required for the purchase of the former bank building.

“We feel that this is an extremely reasonable price for this building,” said Dr. Killgo. “Our plan is to move the Vidor I.S.D. Annex, the Technology Department and the Administration all into that location, and then put those three buildings that they are currently occupying up for sale.”

The former bank building will require some modifications before it can be used as a school district administration building. The Superintendent said that the School District’s architect is busy right now drawing up plans for the new Vidor Middle School so that it might take some time before he is able to start working on plans to modify the former bank building to accommodate a move of all of the administrative functions of the school district into the former bank building.

Besides having room to accommodate the Instructional Service Department including the Curriculum Division, Instructional Technology Division, the Assessment and Accountability Division, Special Education Services Division and Special Services Division and to accommodate the Technology Department and all of the Administration function, including the superintendent’s office, assistant superintendents, financial services, human resources and the Vidor I.S.D. School Board of Trustees, the former bank building has the additional attraction of never have been flooded through two recent flooding events.

“It is not in a flood zone,” said Dr. Killgo. “It did not flood during these last two flooding events. So that is a major factor for us. It is an inconvenience, to say the least, to have our facilities flood twice now.”

But more importantly, the purchase of the Capital One Bank building for use as the Vidor School District’s administration building has the effect of bringing all of the school district’s administrative functions under one roof.

“Right now, we are just separated as an administrative team and it is difficult to work together when we are separated. It will be better for the entire administrative team to be together all in one spot,” said Dr. Killgo.

Another attractive aspect of the former bank building is its location and parking availability.

“It’s right in the middle of town. And it has got more than adequate parking for School Board meetings and other group gatherings. So it has a lot of positives to it. We like the idea of being centrally located in Vidor,” said Dr. Killgo. “It is a fine building that was sitting there unused for some time and we decided to make an offer on it.”

The superintendent said that with ongoing plans to build two new schools, the move into a new administration building might not happen until the summer of 2021. He did point out that once the architect draws up plans for the building’s modifications, the district would likely bid out the work.

“We’re going to have to invest some costs into renovating it, creating offices, meeting rooms and the like,” said Dr. Killgo. “Because of the scope of such a project we are likely going to have to bid it out. So what I have been telling people is that maybe next summer we will be able to move into that new building.

In other school district news, the Superintendent said that groundbreaking on the Oak Forest Elementary School is still awaiting FEMA’s award of hazard mitigation funding to pay for the extra dirt required to raise the new campus some thirty inches higher than the elevation of the old Oak Forest Elementary.

“The funds to raise Oak Forest Elementary have not been officially approved,” said Dr. Killgo. “But when that mitigation funding is approved, we will stick shovels in the ground and begin the work of building the new school. We are hoping that will start by mid-August.”