According to the release, trustees also authorized the district's search for a construction manager to oversee construction of elementary school No. 7 and Phase 2 of Lake Creek High School, which will be a 900-student expansion, according to previous reporting.
“We’re grateful that our community saw the dire need to purchase new school buses as part of the 2022 bond program,” Board President Matt Fuller said in the release. “With a significant delay in school bus delivery due to supply chain challenges, we felt that it was important to place the order now in order to get these buses added to our fleet as soon as possible.”
The release states the district authorized paying for the new buses from its general fund but plans to reimburse the general fund expense once bond funds have been secured.
New buses and new facilities, including the district's seventh elementary school, were included in Proposition A put to voters May 7, totaling $312.986 million. Voters approved the proposition with 64.39% of ballots cast in support, according to previous reporting.
Superintendent Heath Morrison said the new elementary school and high school expansion projects take priority to accommodate anticipated growth in the district.
"In order to open Elementary School [No.] 7 and complete Phase Two of Lake Creek in time for the 2024-25 school year, we need to begin the process of planning and design now," Morrison said in the release. "Thanks to the support of our community, we can get started with posting the request for qualifications and seeking our construction management partner for these two large projects.”
Propositions B and C—including funds for athletics renovations and technology devices, respectively, also passed May 7.
According to the May 10 release from MISD, the district anticipates completing all projects from the 2022 bond package in four to five years.
The MISD board of trustees meets again May 17 and is anticipated to present its preliminary budget for fiscal year 2022-23, according to the meeting agenda.
