Items worth mentioning
The board previously received an update on the items Nov. 18 from Assistant Superintendent of Operations Chris McCord, who discussed overcrowding at the current campuses in the Grand Oaks feeder due to development and new roads, as previously reported by Community Impact.
“It’s a balancing act since you don't want to open too soon but you also don’t want the onramp to be so short that you’re at a major capacity at other locations ... Kacey Arnold [Elementary School] is K-6 and when we zone out you won’t have those kids going to Clark [intermediate school], which will help with the growth there,” board President Misty Odenweller said at the meeting.
Development at the Benders Landing development was also a concern, Odenweller said. During a town hall in April with Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler, area residents had expressed concerns about the development's potential impact on traffic, flooding and drainage, as previously reported by Community Impact.
Kacy Arnold Elementary School, located at 5175 Woodsons Spring Drive in Spring, is scheduled to open in August and is projected to serve 950 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Grand Oaks Junior High, located at 28075 Woodson’s Grand Drive in Spring, is scheduled to open in August 2027 and is projected to serve 800 students in seventh and eighth grade.
Scenario C2.1 was selected for elementary schools.
Scenario B was chosen for Grand Oaks Junior High School.
In other news
The district also approved a school calendar for 2026-27 with a first day of Aug. 12 and a last day of May 27, 2027. Among the dates in that calendar, Jan. 7, 2027, will be the first day after winter break, and March 29, 2027, will be a special inclement weather make-up day if needed.
Hedith Sauceda-Upshaw, the district's assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, highlighted a survey done with parents, 75% of whom preferred three- or four-day weekends throughout the year and 24% who wanted a week off in the fall.
“We’ve done our best to produce a calendar that still gives exchange day options; we need to reward [teachers] for professional learning so we were able to do three,” Sauceda-Upshaw said regarding teacher exchange days.
What else
New Position 1 trustee Agueda Gambino was sworn in for her position on the board following her selection through an application and interview process, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The board also approved Chris White as the principal at Washington High School, and it approved the Fowler Elementary School mascot as a falcon.
