TEXARKANA, Texas -- During a Thursday meeting, the Pleasant Grove Independent School District Board of Trustees approved Leah Sams for the position of Pleasant Grove Middle School principal and provided an update on the coming Career and Technical Education addition to the high school.
A current Pleasant Grove Middle School assistant principal, Sams will begin her new role in June. Sams' professional experience includes serving as the College Hill Middle School principal in the Texarkana Arkansas School District.
She also has experience at the middle school level as a teacher, instructional facilitator, school improvement specialist and assistant principal. Sams holds a bachelor of science in agriculture leadership and development from Texas A&M University in College Station and a master of education in educational administration and supervision from Southern Arkansas University.
The board also approved the hiring of a construction manager for a CTE addition at the high school. Harrison Walker & Harper was selected by a district committee to recommend to the board for the position.
Director of Operations Matt Fry said the project is expected to have a groundbreaking early this summer. The architectural rendering for the addition is nearly complete, and a guaranteed maximum price for the project will soon be agreed upon.
The district is eyeing fall 2023 for when the addition will be ready for student use. The square footage will be around 12,000.
The addition is part of the district's past bond plan and will be an extension of the high school's campus between the high school building and indoor facility. This project is funded through the $19.9 million bond voters approved in 2018 for the school and for updated security and technology districtwide.
It will include 11 total classrooms -- eight standard size and three larger ones -- that will house the school's health science, graphic design, TV production, engineering and business programs. There will be an add-on outside workspace with the robotics room, and one of the rooms will be a studio for television audio production.