Growth In Midlothian Means Midlothian ISD Need To Plan Ahead
MIDLOTHIAN – The City of Midlothian has seen amazing growth over the last few years. With the city’s rapid growth comes a need to manage the new growth for the city’s school district.
According to Sheri Brezeale, Executive Director of Communications, Midlothian ISD, the district grew by 650 students from this week last year. That’s roughly a 6% increase from last year.
“The population of our community is growing rapidly, and our demographers are predicting over 1,000 new homes will be built within the MISD zone in each of the next five years,” Brezeale said.
Last MISD Bond Was IN 2016
What that means, is that Midlothian ISD will need to accommodate over 500 to 600 new students yearly. According to the 2021 Q3 Demographic Report, enrollment growth over the past 5 years is nearly 2x the rate of growth seen from 2011-20.
With that in mind the Midlothian Independent School Board recently approved for the district to begin research and planning for the possibility of a bond election at some point in the future. The last MISD bond was approved in November 2016, by a margin of 58% to 42%, in favor of a $268 million bond package referendum.
Due to the unprecedented growth Midlothian ISD is experiencing, Midlothian ISD President Gary Vineyard said, “We are in the beginning talks of a new bond.”
While no decision has been made on the size of the possible bond election or what the funds would be used for, the ISD believes the first stage of the process is to hear from the community.
“While a bond amount is not yet determined, we established our bond capacity without a tax rate increase to homeowners in a previous board meeting,” Vineyard explained. “Community feedback and involvement are very important so a bond committee will be established to help with the direction as we move forward.”
MISD is requesting stakeholder input and involvement in order to make the best decisions possible for students.
“Community leaders, business owners with ties to the community, parents of Midlothian ISD students and Midlothian ISD staff will comprise the committee,” Vineyard said. “With that in mind the district is asking community members to join the new growth management committee and help plan for the future of MISD facilities.”
The committee will meet weekly on Wednesdays beginning March 23 through the end of April. Those interested in serving on the growth management committee can fill out the brief online application by Tuesday, March 8 by visiting https://www.misd.gs/about/growth-management.
MISD Hosting Information Sessions On Growth
Additionally, the district is hosting several information sessions about growth. Community members are invited to upcoming listening tour sessions where they will be encouraged to share their hopes, dreams, and priorities for Midlothian ISD students as the community grows.
The first meeting was held on Monday, February 28 at LaRue Miller for families that live in that area and a second meeting was held Tuesday, March 1 at J.R. Irvin Elementary for families in the Irvin and Baxter Elementary zones.
Today’s meeting will be held March 2 at Longbranch Elementary at 6:00 p.m. for families in the Longbranch and McClatchey Elementary zones.
A final meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 22 at J.A. Vitovsky Elementary at 6:00 p.m. for families in the Vitovsky Elementary zone.
