School Board approves Letter of Intent for location of second new Middle School

From mylittleelmnews.com

As part of the $239,500,000 Bond package, the Long Range Facilities Planning Committee made the recommendation to build two new Middle Schools to accommodate student growth. The Bond package also addresses extracurricular and Career Technical Education expansions, safety and infrastructure additions, and refinancing Maintenance tax notes for the next 16 years. The LRFPC’s recommendation was presented to the Little Elm ISD Board of Trustees in June, and in August the School Board unanimously approved to call for the Bond Election on November 7.

What was not known until recently, was the location for the District’s second new Middle School. On Monday, a special-called Board Meeting was held. Daniel Gallagher, Superintendent of Little Elm ISD, made a recommendation to the Board of Trustees to approve and sign a letter of intent to purchase land in The Tribute community, west of 423 and Lebanon Road. The board unanimously approved the recommendation at the meeting. “After analyzing the escalated construction costs, potential bonding capacity, and the needs of our students, this will allow us to build the two Middle Schools simultaneously,” said Gallagher. “We are looking at a potential financial savings of approximately $11 million dollars.”

Previously, the District’s original plan included tearing down and rebuilding a new Middle School, replacing Lakeside Middle School (LMS). “We believe by amending those plans and building the new Lakeside MS on land we own on the west side of town, it will allow the District to open both schools in the fall of 2020,” said Gallagher. The letter of intent is a non-binding agreement meaning it is contingent on the passage of the bond. According to the District’s recommendation, all middle schools students will transition to one of the schools based upon the attendance zones.

Because the Board approved the recommendation, this will allow the District to:

• Build both new Middle Schools simultaneously. The new Lakeside Middle School (LMS) will be built on property we currently own off of Eldorado on the west side of the District. The plan is to build the other new Middle School on the land we plan to purchase in The Tribute Community.
• Open both schools in the fall of 2020.
• Transition all middle school students to their campus based on attendance zones.
• Use additional time to study potential uses for the current LMS building.
• Save approximately $11 million dollars in escalated construction costs.

For more information about the bond, visit: www.littleelmisdbond.net

WATCH: Announcement about locations of the Middle Schools

WATCH: Information about the Bond

WATCH: Property Values and the Bond Election