March 3, 2023 — The Midland ISD Bond Committee hosted its first meeting Thursday evening with more than 100 committee members in attendance.

Parents, students, staff, community members, civic leaders and more came together at the Midland High School library to begin the process of determining whether Midland ISD should pursue a school bond in the future and, if so, what should be included.

"Thank you to each member of the committee for coming together last night!" Superintendent Stephanie Howard said. "The energy and excitement in the room as we came together to plan for the future of Midland ISD was certainly noticeable and promising. 

"We are so fortunate to have so many dedicated students, parents, staff members, business and community leaders, and last but certainly not least representatives from Midland College, the city of Midland and Midland County come together to engage in this work. We look forward to the next meeting. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us."

The Bond Planning Committee was formed after the Long-Range Planning Committee recommended nearly unanimously Feb. 9 that one should be formed. Their conclusion was informed in part by a demographic study showing that MISD's aging facilities, particularly its high schools, cannot support the rapid and persistent growth the community is facing. The Long-Range Planning Committee's recommendation came after 18 months of work.

Bond Planning Committee meetings are open to the public to attend. All meetings are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., and future meeting dates are as follows:

• April 3 at Legacy Freshman High School, 1400, E. Oak Ave.
• April 20 at Midland Freshman High School, 101 E. Gist Ave.
• May 4 at Yarbrough Elementary, 6000 Riverfront Drive.
• June 1 at Bunche Elementary, 700 S. Jackson St.
• June 20 at a location TBD.

MISD's Bond Planning Committee website will be updated with more information as the process continues. You can find it at midlandisd.net/bond.