Frisco school board members were given a sneak peek at the design plans for a new visual and performing arts center at a meeting last week.
Bobby Lajoie, senior vice president of Corgan, a Dallas-based architectural firm, presented renderings of the performance hall, which will seat approximately 1,200 people — twice the capacity of Frisco Independent School District’s current school facilities.
The design was crafted with three key descriptors in mind: dynamic, clean, and modern. It will provide a striking venue for hosting events as well as providing versatile spaces for day-to-day operations. It features upper balcony seating within the auditorium, two multipurpose labs, an art exhibit gallery, fine arts offices, and various back-of-house spaces.
The visual and performing arts center was made possible through a 2018 bond passed by taxpayers, directing $43 million to the project. However, construction costs are expected to exceed this, so Frisco ISD trustees will not vote on the maximum price of the project until early next year.
The project, located on a site previously owned by the district on Stockard Drive, adjacent to Lamar and Norma Hunt Middle School, is slated to break ground sometime in March. As such, Frisco ISD students — tens of thousands of whom are enrolled in fine arts classes — won’t be able to exhibit their talents onstage until 2026.
Even though its grand opening is a long way off, the performing arts center is expected to help several generations of students benefit from the district’s well-reputed music and fine arts programs.
“An inheritance is something you leave to someone else. A legacy is something you leave in them,” said Pete Hazzard, Frisco ISD’s managing director of fine arts, in a news release. “This facility is a legacy of support that will forever remain in the hearts and minds of fine arts students and teachers in this district.”
Frisco ISD has seen consistently high demand from prospective students despite other public school districts struggling with declining enrollment numbers, as previously covered in The Dallas Express. The district grew from 65,617 students in 2021-2022 to 67,226 students in 2022-2023, spurring several new construction projects to keep up with the surge.
While competition from charters, demographic shifts, rising housing costs, and more have been cited as reasons for the latter districts’ challenges, it is notable that Frisco ISD has maintained a robust academic reputation.
According to the Texas Education Agency accountability reports, Frisco ISD had an on-time graduation rate of 99% in 2021-2022, and 74% of its students scored at grade level on the STAAR exam. Meanwhile, Dallas ISD, which has lost students amid allegations of mismanagement and more, only managed to graduate 81.1% of its students on time in that same school year. Moreover, only 41% of students scored at grade level.
