FOX 4 Investigation: Grand Prairie ISD Home Renovations Update

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The Grand Prairie Independent School District released two invoices that show the district paid $45,000 for a fence around the district-owned house where its superintendent lives.  That's on top of the $80,000 spent renovating and upgrading the home.

The new information was in response to a request for public records that FOX 4 filed with the district four months earlier.

The initial FOX 4 Investigation in March 2017 exposed some expensive perks taxpayers are giving to North Texas school superintendents.

In that report, one perk stood out to viewers: a home, bought by the Grand Prairie Independent School District, that the superintendent lives in.

The Dallas Central Appraisal District values the gated home, along with the 5 acres it sits on, at around $400,000. But the district bought it last year for nearly $700,000.

While it is officially district property, it is being used as a personal home for its current occupant, Superintendent Dr. Susan Hull.

Her $360,000 dollar annual salary already makes her the highest-paid superintendent in North Texas, earning more than the superintendents in Dallas or Fort Worth. In addition, she receives $84,000 in bonuses and allowances each year.

Now she lives in a four-bedroom, 2-and-a-half bath, 2,700 square foot home, on five acres of land, with a pool and a barn.

It was bought by taxpayers last year, with board approval, for $694,500. We learned the school district also spent an additional $80,000 on upgrades and repairs to the home. Things like granite counter tops, patio ceiling fans, and a driveway to the house.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE INITIAL UPGRADES AND REPAIRS

Invoices released today (June 14) show an additional $45,000 was paid to install fencing around the home where the superintendent lives.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FENCING INVOICES

A district spokesperson emphasizes that Hull is paying $2,000-thousand dollars a month in rent. But keep in mind, the district pays her $1,000 dollar a month housing allowance.

One more perk: because the school district owns the home, it is exempt from property taxes. The tax bill would be $12,000 dollars a year.