In the past five years, the student enrollment in Midway ISD has grown by nearly 850 students and it’s projected to climb an additional 2,300 students in the next 10 years. To accommodate this growth, the district is proposing to add an elementary school and make additions and improvements at four existing campuses. The proposal is part of a bond election that will be presented to voters on the November 5, 2019 ballot.
The bond election was called by unanimous vote of the Midway ISD Board of Trustees during a special-called meeting on August 14, 2019. Residents who live in Midway ISD will have the opportunity to vote on the bond proposition during Early Voting, October 22 – November 1, and on Election Day, November 5. Any registered voter who lives within the school district boundaries is eligible to vote in the election. The deadline for new residents to update their address, or for residents to become a registered voter for the first time, is October 7.
Nearly all the bond proposal – 94 percent – is designed to address growth:
- 26% – construction of a new elementary school in Hewitt
- 29% – addition and conversion at River Valley to convert it to a 6th – 8th grade middle school
- 21% – addition at Midway High School to expand Career & Technical Education (CTE) facilities and create additional student capacity
- 9% – conversion of Woodgate to become a PreK – 5th grade elementary school
- 9% – renovations and upgrades to Midway Middle School
The remaining six percent of bond funds will go toward capital improvement projects and upgrades to the district’s technology facility:
- 3% – HVAC system replacements
- 2% – roof replacements
- 1% – upgrades to technology facility and data center
The 2019 bond program is estimated to accommodate the projected enrollment growth for approximately 10 years. If approved, this bond proposal will allow the district to transition to a 6th through 8th grade middle school model in the next several years, eliminating the intermediate school model. In the future, elementary schools would serve grades PreK through 5th; middle schools would serve grades 6th through 8th; and the high school would remain grades 9th through 12th. It’s projected that this new grade alignment and feeder pattern could take affect in the 2022-2023 school year.
After studying the district’s bonding capacity, revenue, and financial priorities, the Board of Trustees discussed decreasing the Interest & Sinking, or debt service, portion of the tax rate by one penny, if the bond election is approved by voters. This decrease would be in addition to a seven-cent decrease as a result of House Bill 3 (HB3) that was passed by the state legislature earlier this summer. Midway ISD has maintained a tax rate of $1.32 per $100 of property valuation since 2007. The $1.32 rate combines the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) rate of $1.04 and the voter-approved Interest & Sinking (I&S) rate of $0.28. With the passage of HB3, the M&O rate will drop to $0.97 – and with the Board’s action on August 14 – the I&S rate would drop to $0.27, bringing the total tax rate down to $1.24 per $100 value. The overall tax rate (which has been at $1.32 since 2007) could decrease by eight cents to $1.24.
The 2019 bond package is a result of a recommendation made to the Board of Trustees in June by a Facility Study Committee charged with studying growth and facility needs. The committee was made up of local community members, parents, civic and business leaders. Members met 14 times since October to consider the growth and educational needs of all Midway ISD students. The committee reviewed demographic projections, district financial information, existing facility conditions, and had the opportunity to tour existing campuses before prioritizing potential bond projects.
The district will post additional details about the upcoming bond election at www.MidwayISDBond.org. District officials also plan to share information about the bond at VIP (Very Important Parent) events this fall. These informational sessions will be designed to educate parents and other citizens about what’s proposed. Residents are encouraged to follow the district’s social media channels and visit the website for the most up-to-date information.
