As Magnolia ISD’s student population continues to surge, officials are taking the next steps to address the need for new student facilities.
On Feb. 9, trustees approved a new bond proposal to appear on the upcoming May election ballot. Proposition A looks to fund a new high school and two elementary schools, along with various land purchases, security, buses and maintenance needs.
MISD failed to pass a trio of bond propositions back in November. With this in mind, officials revised the original bond in the hopes of funding new facilities to avoid student overcrowding.
Current situation
Proposition A focuses on funding the construction of three schools, land purchases and other district needs. In November, the full bond proposal also included Propositions B and C, which focused on athletic facilities.
After removing Propositions B and C, the cost of the May bond proposal is $465.68 million—$51.24 million less than the three bonds proposed in November, which totaled $516.92 million.
Locals rejected Proposition A by 50.57%, while Propositions B and C were rejected by 58.87% and 60.47%, respectively. Per MISD officials, 87% of parents didn’t vote in the election.
Chief Communications Officer Denise Meyers said the district has taken multiple measures to “inform locals and revise the bonds to make them more appealing.”
The district has begun to host monthly informational meetings, and Superintendent of Operations Erich Morris said the one thing they hear most from parents at these meetings is acknowledgment of their concerns.
“They just want to make sure that the focus is on specifically that growth and what is needed for that and that we’re good stewards of their dollars, and I believe we are,” Morris said.
The breakdownMISD’s student population is 15,259 students, per district data. Projections show the student population will grow to between 24,817 and 26,355 a decade from now—an increase of between 61.06% and 71.04%.
If Proposition A fails to pass, Superintendent Jason Bullock said the district will be forced to make some “tougher decisions” to safely accommodate the estimated student overpopulation.
“If there aren’t new schools in places to put students, then you’re faced with making some tougher decisions,” Bullock said. “Moving boundary lines around an elementary school, increased class sizes and spending budget money to buy portable facilities. If you aren’t building permanent facilities with bond money, those are the type of things you start to have to face.”
With regard to the district’s tax rate, Meyers said—like the November bond proposal—the revised May proposal would not raise the tax rate.
The district’s tax rate is $0.9583, and Meyers said MISD’s tax rate has decreased more than 42 cents in the last 10 years. For 2015-16, the tax rate was $1.3795, per the district’s website.
Public input- “With the projected growth right now, our current fourth- [&] fifth-grade students seem to be the ones that’ll be in portables because of the growth. That’s not safe for a high school campus of over 2,500 students.” —Rachael Ervin, Magnolia ISD parent
- “My hope is that MISD will take the will of the people to heart and realize that we cannot just continue to build bigger and better. ... We don’t need multi-million dollar campuses. ... What we do need are well-paid teachers.” —Dave Petterson, Magnolia ISD grandparent
On the ballotElection day is May 2. Until then, MISD will be hosting public informational sessions to inform the public about the nature of Proposition A and its impact.
Should Proposition A pass in the May election, construction and planning for the three facilities and other district purchases are slated to begin fairly quickly. Morris said the construction for the three facilities should be completed within three to five years after the bond passes.
Bullock said he encourages parents to use their voice and vote in May.
“We want to know what our community wants going forward, and the more people that participate, the better view of that it gives us,” Bullock said.
