Magnolia ISD is calling for its first bond election in just over a decade. Approved at a May 18 board meeting, the $92 million referendum will be put before voters on the November ballot with no proposed tax rate increase.

The bond referendum would fund the construction of a new fifth- and sixth-grade campus, the conversion of the Bear Branch 6th Grade Campus into a fifth- and sixth-grade school and land purchases for future schools in the coming years. The bond package will also fund renovations and additions at several campuses as well as districtwide priority maintenance projects and security upgrades.

In January the district organized a Facility Planning Committee consisting of 38 community members with at least one parent representative from each of the 14 MISD schools. Over the past few months, committee members conducted research, reviewed enrollment projections and toured schools to determine a possible need for a bond election to support district improvements, MISD Superintendent Todd Stephens said.

“I’m proud to report that group of about 40 members have worked diligently for several months,” Stephens said. “They worked hard, and I’m very excited for this [bond] proposal.”

Enrollment surge

After reviewing enrollment projections, the committee noted MISD is poised to see a 28 percent enrollment spike in the next decade from 12,458 students to 15,979 students, MISD Communications Director Denise Meyers said.

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“As we can all see when we drive around Magnolia, there are several new housing developments under construction as well as tens of thousands of additional homes coming in the next few years,” said Henry Hart, committee member and parent of two MISD students.

Based on conservative growth models, Lyon and Magnolia elementary schools and Magnolia Junior High School will reach 85 percent capacity during the 2015-16 school year, Hart said.

By 2018, Lyon, Magnolia and Smith elementary schools are expected to reach an overcapacity level, Hart said. Students will likely experience a deteriorated learning environment and may encounter safety issues with an increased population in many of the district’s schools, he said.

“At that time, we’ll have half of the students in the district who are not in high school learning in an overcrowded classroom, including both sixth-grade campuses and both junior high campuses in just a few years,” Hart said. “We need to act now to avoid that situation.”

After mulling over a few options, the committee determined the bond was the best option to manage growth with no rezoning for MISD schools. The bond proposal designates funding to open a new fifth- and sixth-grade campus and combine fifth- and sixth-graders at the existing Bear Branch 6th Grade Campus, said Kara Isam, committee member and parent of three MISD students.

“I believe in an environment of bringing fifth and sixth grades together with a more consistent and purposeful curriculum that would be more advantageous to the intellectual and maturity levels of these students,” said Kirsten Coleman, committee member and parent of an MISD student.

Aging facilities

The Magnolia 6th Grade Campus—constructed in 1937—is one of the oldest facilities in the district. Williams Elementary School contains a building still in use that dates back to 1939. In addition, a portion of Magnolia Junior High School is 37 years old, and the Bear Branch 6th Grade Campus is 32 years old, said Ronnie Riley, committee member and parent of five students who have attended MISD schools.

“[My family’s] educational experience in Magnolia ISD has been overwhelmingly positive,” Riley said. “However, many of our aging campuses face serious needs, and we must prepare for continued growth.”

Immediate-past MISD President Deborah Rose Miller said there is a need to ensure facilities are up to par districtwide.

“The key we are looking at in the district is to make sure that no matter where you live in Magnolia, that your school meets the needs and has the right standards,” Miller said.

Additional referendums

The $92 million bond package includes two additional referendums for voter approval, including a $6 million district conference center and $2 million for turf on the two high school football fields.

“We feel [the center] will unite both sides of Magnolia, give us a place to train our teachers, a place for community members to meet and a place for us to   gather and celebrate as a school district,” said Kelly McDonald, committee member and parent of two MISD students.