Jim Bridges Middle School held its first day of instruction Aug. 11. The 2026-27 school year is the first year Bridges Middle School opened. (Courtesy Prosper ISD)
Prosper ISD opened two campuses on Aug. 11 for the 2026-27 school year using funds from its 2023 bond. Judy Rucker Elementary School relocated to a new campus, and Jim Bridges Middle School opened its doors for the first time.
“Opening a new school brings incredible energy, and I want that excitement to spread,” Alex Crosbie, principal of Bridges Middle School, said in a statement.
A third campus, Dr. Drew and Kristen Watkins Middle School, was originally set to open in fall 2026, but the PISD board of trustees voted to delay the opening until the 2027-28 school year at a Nov. 17, 2025 meeting.
“While we may remain a fast-growing district, we feel like we are best positioned in the future in terms of growth and finances to slow down at this time,” said Bill McLaughlin, then-deputy superintendent and current acting superintendent, at the November meeting.
Delaying the school’s opening will allow PISD to defer roughly $9.8 million in salaries and operational costs to fiscal year 2027-28, according to a statement from district officials. The move will help save money in the FY 2026-27 budget, which has a $25.1 million projected shortfall in the general fund, per the statement.
Courtesy Prosper ISD
The context
PISD officials called the 2023 bond during a period of rapid growth. The district’s enrollment more than tripled between 2013 and 2023, according to data from the Texas Education Agency.
District officials began rethinking those projections based on trends in the Dallas-Fort Worth housing market, McLaughlin said in November 2025.
“We began to receive information that the housing market in the DFW area had begun to slow down,” he said. “It’s not a 1-to-1 correlation, but housing starts and housing closings are a big driver of our overall student enrollment.”
Several districts in North Texas closed schools ahead of the 2026-27 school year and cited declining enrollment as a factor, including Frisco ISD, McKinney ISD and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, according to previous reporting.
“Other districts, either their growth has slowed, stopped or they are decreasing,” McLaughlin said at an Aug. 24 board meeting. “We’re still adding kids, we’re just not adding at the same rate that we were two, three years ago.”
Breaking it down
In the face of slower growth, district officials are being “deliberately conservative” about building new campuses, according to the statement.
Including the campuses that opened this year, PISD has used the 2023 bond to fully or partially fund five new campuses: three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.
Watkins Middle School, along with a new administrative building that is under construction as of September 2026, is slated to open in fall 2027, officials said.
While the 2023 bond includes funding for additional campuses, officials have halted construction on the district’s 21st and 22nd elementary schools because of lower enrollment projections.
“We’ve been paying close attention to how other fast-growth Texas districts have navigated this same transition, and one takeaway stands out: don’t build ahead of actual need,” McLaughlin and Chief of Operations Todd Shirley said in their statement.
Campuses funded by the 2023 bond
Fall 2025
Smothermon Elementary School
Guaranteed maximum price: $38.62 million
Thomson Elementary School*
Guaranteed maximum price: $39.48 million
Richland High School*
Guaranteed maximum price: $282.74 million
Fall 2026
Rucker Elementary School
Guaranteed maximum price: $59.51 million
Bridges Middle School
Guaranteed maximum price: $114.32 million
Fall 2027
Watkins Middle School
Guaranteed maximum price: $113.77 million
*partially funded by the 2019 bond
Something to watch
In FY 2026-27, PISD was set to receive over $40 million in payments from the state designed to support growing districts, Chief Financial Officer Keri Croy said June 16.
The fast growth and new instructional facility allotments are expected to decrease as PISD’s growth slows, which could contribute to tighter budgets, she said.
