A couple of days ago Iwas browsing the Waco Trib’s website and came across a news story about Midway ISD‘s interest in two parcels of land. About 28 acres off of old Temple Rd and a 56 acre plat off of Ritchie Rd.
It appears Midway ISD is planning for future growth by securing land now. The superintendent said the land will be slated for an elementary or intermediate school and a middle school in the future.
Call me a geek, but I immediately pulled up the demographic and projection study that Midway ISD published in February, 2012 – here’s a link to it
If the growth projections for the Midway Independent School District hold up it looks like they’ll need to build, they won’t have a choice. Here’s a summary of capacity (problems) by the year 2022… just the next 7 years:
- Castleman Creek Elementary student enrollment will be 122.34% of capacity
- Spring Valley Elementary student enrollment will be 106.72% of capacity
- South Bosque Elementary student enrollment will be145.17% of capacity
- Midway Middle School will be at 104% of capacity
- Midway High School will be at near capacity
The two biggest hit schools will be Castleman Creek Elementary and South Bosque Elementary. That’s not surprising with the past and current growth of residential developments along the “hwy 84 corridor”, the new Chapel Ridge subdivision and now the 320 acre neighborhood that DR Horton is developing on Ritchie Rd.
The new DR Horton subdivision is expected to add about 1,500 new homes. The Chapel Ridge neighborhood is expected to be about 350 homes. Wow! That’s over 1,800 new homes – just in the one pocket! Also, don’t forget about the new apartment complex that opened up at Woodgate and Panther Way.
I’m not a member of the school board. I just tend to be a numbers nerd and real estate market geek. I always feel like you can make decent predictions based on the “flow” of the real estate market. Right now, the flow is pretty strong in Midway ISD. Sales are up 23% from last year and up 59% from five years ago.
I would imagine that at the very least, Midway ISD will need to redraw some of the elementary school zone boundaries in the future, but it appears that (at least) one new school will need to be opened.
Just a couple of days ago I was having a conversation about this very thing with another Realtor who lives in Midway ISD too… their first response, “Well, the last thing I want is another bond.” Actually, the Midway ISD portion of our property taxes is one of the cheapest in the county, believe it or not. Here’s a quick breakdown of the school tax rate per $100 of valuation for various school districts:
- Midway ISD: $1.32
- Robinson ISD: $1.51
- China Spring ISD: $1.538834
- Lorena ISD: $1.64
- Waco ISD: $1.353240
It will be interesting to see the growth of areas that are served by the Midway school district over the next 7 or 8 years, for sure!
