MIDLAND, Texas — Ranchland Hills Golf Club could see quite the transition in the years to come. Midland ISD, or MISD, purchased the land the golf course sits on back in 2019 for future plans that are included in the upcoming bond that the school district is looking to pass in November.
Those future plans are to build a new Midland High School where the golf course is located. MISD also bought land near Tradewinds south of Astound Broadband Stadium back in 2013 that will be used for a potential new Legacy High School, with the two new high schools acting as significant pieces of this school bond.
Swapping out tee time for class time.
“We bought land for a future school site," said Dr. Stephanie Howard, Superintendent of Midland ISD. "We didn’t buy a golf course, it just so happened that a golf course is what was sitting on that land when it came up for sell.”
Long before MISD had a $1.4 billion dollar bond on the ballot, Ranchland Hills was identified.
“That’s the key – finding 100 acres that sits in a location that’s within Midland High’s boundaries, as well as having the acreage that we need and having the infrastructure that we need to build a high school," Dr. Howard said.
Dr. Howard says that at least 100 acres is needed to build a comprehensive, 6-A high school.
“That’s about 124 acres compared to about 117 at the site where Midland high will be built," Dr. Howard said. "Again, both of them have plenty of land and the opportunity to build those two high schools on land that’s adequate for schools of that size.”
While site plans currently look the same, they are subject to change.
“Those are drafts," Dr. Howard said. "That’s just to give everyone a feel of what would be on the site. The majority of the interior will have a very similar floor plan – that saves quite a bit of money and not designing two very distinct campuses. The renderings, however though, you’ll see the differences on the exterior – the differences in finishing, some uniqueness to the entries and things like that.”
As the red and blue cowboy boot logo of Ranchland Hills Golf Course could be replaced by a Midland High Bulldog sign, the placement of new high schools would still keep purple with purple and maroon with maroon.
“Our two high schools are within about 100 students of each other, and so, that fluctuates all the time but it’s never differed considerably," Dr. Howard said. "And so, trying to keep the campus balanced – those boundaries have worked for a long time. So, there’s no plan to change existing boundaries.”
Dr. Howard mentioned that they are getting ready to release more renderings on the new high schools and hold community events for the bond ahead of the November election. She noted that while the high schools would not open until August of 2028, MISD has other projects that they could begin as early as January of 2024 if the bond passes.