MIDLAND, Texas — Midland ISD passed its $1.4 billion school bond in November of 2023 following months of work to determine what needs the school district had. That work has now transitioned to making progress on bond projects, which includes three new schools.
MISD is positioned to work on many projects at once. The design phase for the two new high schools will start soon, and for the new elementary school near Lone Star Trails, the design phase is already underway.
On the northeast side of Midland, education is coming.
“We felt the most important thing was to start on the elementary," said Cortney Smith, Chief of Facilities and Operations for Midland ISD. "That was kind of the most pressing.”
An elementary school that will look similar to Fasken Elementary in the northwest and Yarbrough Elementary on the westside, as the designer of those schools – Parkhill -- will also design this one.
Feedback from those schools is being used during this design process.
“We talked with teachers and staff members and there is not enough storage in some areas," Smith said. "There’s not enough MDF and IDF room, so we’ve identified all those things and we’re going to make those changes in the new schools.”
Smith says the design phase for the high schools will take over a year.
“Similar to what we did for the elementary’s where we got groups of district leaders together and principals and so forth to find out what’s going well in our elementary’s and what’s not working so well, we’re going to do the same thing for our high schools -- but it’s going to be more in depth and more extensive," Smith said. "It’s going to take a little longer. We’re going to have leaders from each school put input into that process.”
Pfluger Architects will design the new Midland High School where Ranchland Hills Golf Club is currently and design the new Legacy High School near Tradewinds and Thomason.
“The high schools are scheduled to open in August of 2028, so we felt it very important to go ahead and get the architecture and engineering firm selected so the design and site and survey work and everything that goes into those new high schools can get started as soon as possible," Smith said.
That work will start on Jan. 22nd with leaders set to begin visualizing what they want to see.
While work is done for the new schools, the bond process also includes what’s already in place.
“We are going to have three brand-new, great facilities for our kiddos, but our existing facilities are also going to see a lot of improvements across the board for all of those, so excited for that," Smith said.
Smith mentioned that the plan is to start construction on the new elementary school in 2024 and to have it open in August of 2025, and for construction on both high schools to begin in 2025. He added that school district leaders will be touring Lubbock Cooper’s new facilities for any ideas that MISD might want to include in their bond projects.