From the Superintendent’s Desk

By Randy Hancock
Royse City ISD

Royse City ISD is extremely busy as we begin this second semester of school.  Here are a few news items to help catch you up and keep you informed regarding our world of education.

Construction
Building continues to progress at the high school with the new student activities additions.  The auditorium is coming along very well and you can begin to see the overall shape of the finished product.  It is going to be a very nice, functional facility that will serve this district and community for many years to come.

Likewise the stadium is beginning to take shape.  We expect the bleacher material to arrive in the next couple of weeks and the actual field turf may start going down in early March.  Needless to say it will really begin to look like a stadium at that point.

Growth
While we have seen a slow down in the growth of our student population, we have still experienced a little over 8% increase since the end of school last year.  Based on current projections from our demographer, using conservative estimates, we can expect the number of students in our school district to double in the next 8-10 years.  That would put us in the 8,000 – 9,000 student range.

Future Issues
One of the most difficult parts of our business is planning for growth.  It is absolutely imperative that we have appropriate facilities for our students and staff, but we cannot afford to get ahead of ourselves and build too much, too fast.  We are carefully and methodically planning for the future and using every tool at our disposal to make decisions and recommendations.  Over the next few months the facility committee will be looking at our upcoming needs and working to find affordable, workable solutions.  Ultimately the school board bears the responsibility to make decisions that fit the needs in every aspect.  We know that during the next year we are going to look at needs at the existing high school, as well as, begin the discussion on single versus multiple high school campuses.  While that particular issue is a few years down the road – the planning is important regarding the current facility and it determines just how much we increase capacity at the current high school.

Partnership
The future of Royse City ISD continues to be bright.  Our school district has a rich history of community support and we certainly appreciate that partnership in our efforts.  I ask you to continue to keep yourself informed on the happenings in our district.  Our website is always full of information and of course, we are always just a phone call or an email away.  If you have questions, please let us know.  If you have ideas, please let us know.  They will always be given the respect and consideration they deserve.  Together we can prepare this district for the thousands of students that will be educated in this district for many generations to come.