The gist
Legacy Ranch High School will open to ninth grade students in fall 2024 at Middle School No. 3 until the high school's official campus opens for the 2026-27 school year.
The board voted to fast track the opening of its second high school campus to relieve overcapacity at Liberty Hill High School at a July 17 meeting.
The new high school will add one grade each year, opening with grades ninth through eleventh at the larger campus in the fall of 2026, Superintendent Steven Snell said.
The details
- Legacy Ranch will follow the same attendance zones as Santa Rita Middle School.
- Current eighth grade students zoned for Legacy Ranch may apply to transfer if they have siblings at Liberty Hill High School. This offer will likely be in effect for the next three years, Snell said.
- The district aims to offer the same extracurriculars at Legacy Ranch as Liberty Hill High School.
- Varsity sports will likely be available for individual sports, such as tennis, golf and track, while team sports will likely play at freshman and junior varsity levels for two years.
- A student who qualifies for varsity level sports not offered at Legacy Ranch may have an opportunity to transfer to Liberty Hill High School.
- Legacy Ranch will offer the same academic programs and career and technical education courses for freshmen as Liberty Hill High School.
- Both campuses will have specialized CTE courses based on the facility’s needs, including graphic design, EMT and HVAC courses at Legacy Ranch; and Junior ROTC, animation, law enforcement, construction management and culinary at Liberty Hill High School.
- Students may be provided transportation to take classes not offered at their campus.
"I certainly want to promise them an exciting experience," Board President Megan Parsons said. "It's going to be an exciting opening, and they're going to have their own traditions and fun things that are going to be going on there next year to help with that pride."
Also of note
The board approved $59 million toward the future Legacy Ranch campus for civil work, concrete, utilities and steel at the Aug. 21 meeting, Snell said. He said district will break ground on the campus with a $300 million budget Sept. 1. It will take around two years to complete.
What’s next?
The district will hire a principal for Legacy Ranch in October and begin hiring staff members, and decide on the school's mascot and colors in the fall, Snell said.
