As LHISD plans to open three campuses in 2026, the board of trustees approved Legacy Ranch Middle School as the official name for Middle School No. 3 and a construction manager for Elementary School No. 8 at a Feb. 20 meeting.
What's happening?
Legacy Ranch Middle School will first open its doors to incoming ninth grade students in August as the temporary location for Legacy Ranch High School. The campus will begin operating as the district’s third middle school once ninth through 11th grade students transition to the official Legacy Ranch High School campus when it opens in 2026.
The shared names will allow the district to save money by not having to rebrand the middle school once high school students move out; however, every student at Legacy Ranch Middle School may not attend Legacy Ranch High School, board President Megan Parsons said.
Place 2 board member Kendall Carter said the district should consider rebranding Santa Rita Middle School as those students will attend Legacy Ranch High School. Some board members said middle and high school campuses may need to have different mascots and colors as the district grows, similar to other districts in the area.
“A lot of this is growing pains,” Place 5 board member Anthony Buck said. “We’re getting into that phase.”
What else?
The board approved American Constructors as the construction manager for Elementary School No. 8, which is scheduled to open in 2026 in the Lariat neighborhood.
The school will cost around $45 million to construct using 2023 bond funds. The board’s action approved $60,000 for preconstruction services, while future costs will be brought back to the board for approval, LHISD Chief Operations Officer Mark Willoughby said.
The district will solicit bids for construction once the school’s design is complete, he said. LHISD elementary campuses are currently designed to serve a capacity of 800 students; however, some board members discussed designing Elementary School No. 8 to accommodate 1,200 students at a Dec. 18 meeting.
