Caddo Mills Community,
The Caddo Mills ISD Collaborative Visioning Committee, comprised of 70 stakeholders, and the Board of Trustees met on several occasions this fall to continue discussions about the future of our district, including continued student growth. CMISD is one of the fastest growing districts in Texas. The board and facilities committees would like input from our community on how to best prepare for the future.
The district enrollment is currently 2645 students, an increase of over 500 students from the start of the 21-22 school year, and is projected to keep growing at this pace over the next ten years. The opening of the new high school alleviated overcrowding for the meantime, but will soon reach capacity with projected growth. Lee Elementary and Griffis Elementary will reach or exceed capacity, with the intermediate school following suit in 24-25.
CMISD is working on creating a plan to meet the needs of educating 5500 students. To provide the amount of classroom space for this number of students, the district would need two additional elementary schools, an additional intermediate school, and additions to the middle and high schools. There is no crystal ball for growth; plans can only be based on projections on the number of home starts, closings, etc.
To meet these needs, CMISD is considering a bond large enough to encompass future facilities. Bonds would only be sold and schools built when the need arises. More homes and increased businesses coming to Caddo Mills would allow CMISD to sell more bonds. The bond election would ask for community approval on a line of credit that could be tapped into in the future to build schools. This process is very common among fast-growth districts. Examples of bond elections in prior years include Forney $1.29 billion, Community ISD $595 million, Anna ISD $793 million, Princeton $237 million, and Royse City $230 million. With this type of growth, most of the districts have a five to ten-year plan to sell bonds and build facilities. CMISD is developing a plan to accommodate 5500 students.
The Board of Trustees and the Collaborative Visioning Committee would also like your input on athletic facilities at the new high school. These facilities would be considered in a separate proposition. The new high school does not have a softball and baseball complex or a stadium. A track and turf field has been built to facilitate practices to which a stadium could be added. The overcrowding issues are evident if you have attended a football game over the past few years. Four courts would also be added for tennis to host tournaments. A first-class facility for football, soccer, band, drill team, cheer, baseball, softball, and tennis would provide excellent opportunities for our programs and community. The stadium facility could also provide culinary arts education as well as broadcast education to bolster career and technical offerings as well.
The goal of CMISD is to continue to be the best school district in the State of Texas. With your help, we can be proactive and expedite the process of accommodating expected growth. A FAQ document link is provided to help answer any questions you may have to help fill out the survey, including no tax rate increase information.
Thank you for your continued support of our great district.
Superintendent of Schools,
Luke Allison
