Because our expected speaker did not show up, MISD Superintendent Todd Stephens and Deputy District Director for U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady, Thomas Mardik provided impromptu presentations for the Magnolia Rotary Club members. Pictured on the left is Todd Stephens and on the right is Thomas Mardik.
Todd Stephens presented first and talked about a number of areas related to the Magnolia ISD:
- 13,000 students in MISD and from all indications, still growing.
- Demographers hired by MISD provided expected growth in the district for the next several years.
- To date, growth has surpassed the projected growth numbers given by the demographers.
- A new master planned community (over 2000 acres) in Montgomery County, Texas will start to impact the MISD area in less than 5-6 years.
- The new master planned community is expected to need 4 more schools when finally opened.
- MISD has an in house construction guy that has saved the district quite a bit of money on every construction project the district starts.
- MISD is proud of all of the projects done under the direction of the in house construction guy.
- The MISD Event Center is centrally located and provides a venue for large MISD meeting as well as being rented out to local groups and organizations.
- The International Baccalaureate (IB) Program for High School Juniors and Seniors has been a great success and recently 35 college students came back to be presented with their IB Diplomas. All students talked highly of how much the program has helped them in college and life in general.
- Full time licensed police officers are now stationed at every school in the district. Both parents and students are extremely positive about the new program.
- Working with LSC to focus on manpower development when the new Magnolia Campus is opened. Land has been purchased for the campus but no date is yet available for the opening. Believe that the Texas Legislature must get involved to pull the concept together.
Thomas Mardik presented next:
- Kevin Brady is now the ranking member of Congress from Texas.
- The U.S. Government is still in a partial shutdown and both sides are not giving.
- This is the longest government shutdown and is now in day 31.
- Kevin Brady (along with others) is working to try and get something that will get the two sides to the bargaining table.
- Major government departments that are shut down are the TSA, the IRS, and Treasury.
- Willis just opened up a new trade school
