Superintendent Beau Rees said the mascot, as well as the school colors—navy blue and vegas gold—were selected by a survey filled out by students in May.
“We went to a group of students that are going to open the new high school and we did a survey with them,” Rees said.
The $97 million school will be the district’s second high school and is under construction on FM 2854 in Montgomery, south of Hwy. 105. Crews broke ground on the school in early September and it is expected to be ready in time for the 2018-19 school year.
Rees said the school was necessary in order to accommodate rapid population growth within the district boundaries.
“Montgomery High School has a capacity of 2,600 students and we are at 2,643,” Rees said. “It is just overcrowding issues really, and the community was ready for the second high school.
District of Innovation
During Tuesday’s meeting the board of trustees also approved a resolution to pursue District of Innovation status.
The initiative is a concept approved by the 84th state Legislature to give school districts some of the flexibilities available to charter schools. Those perks include exemptions from school start date, attendance rule, class-size ratios and discipline mandates.
“This is an opportunity for our [district] to have more local control,” Rees said. “If there are some regulations or state mandates that inhibit you from doing what you want to do in terms of innovation, then you are allowed to apply for some waivers just like charter schools.”
New district boundaries
The board also discussed the process of redrawing district boundaries to accommodate the new high school, as well as the new elementary school, Keenan Elementary School, and junior high school, Oak Hills Junior High School.
To determine the new attendance boundaries the district will evaluate projected population growth and also take its grade realignment initiatives into consideration. The district plans to move to a traditional grade group structure during the 2017-18 school year.
The district plans to create several options for the new district boundaries and hold public hearing meetings in October to implement resident feedback.
“The end goal is that whatever we do is transparent,” Rees said. “I think we will definitely get there and this process allows us to do it.”
