Marion Independent School District

Marion Independent School District is committed to fostering a community of learners in developing the knowledge and skills to be future ready. The proposed plan will improve both learning and extracurricular spaces for all students in the Marion Independent School District.

The proposed plan will improve both learning and extracurricular spaces for all students in the Marion Independent School District. After reviewing the findings of the physical assessment of all MISD schools, taking into consideration the results of community surveys and open house feedback, as well as input from students and staff, the facilities committee has recommended a long-range plan that includes the following projects:

• New auditorium on the high school campus

• New activities complex at the high school campus

• Repairs to the high school exterior walls

• New elementary school at Thomas Park

• Renovation and additions at Francis Marion Intermediate

In addition to the bond projects, the facilities committee also challenged the district to commit additional maintenance funds to adding air conditioning at the high school. While this project will not be fully funded by the bond referendum, based on community input, the committee felt strongly about ensuring it was addressed concurrently with the bond projects.

How was the community involved?

Our goal throughout this entire process has been to engage our community of parents, staff, students, and Marion residents – in the conversation.  

We started with a staff survey and listening sessions open to all district staff members in May and June. The feedback offered during these sessions was some of the first information the Facilities Advisory Committee – which includes community, staff, and students – received during their first meeting this summer.

Additionally, in lieu of face to face tours during COVID, OPN developed a virtual facility tour and related priority/needs survey, both of which were sent to all MISD families via email. Both were also posted on social media. In one week, more than 900 users viewed the tour nearly 1,500 times. The average time spent on the site was nearly five minutes. The survey was completed by 524 community members.

The feedback from the survey was part of the qualitative data the facilities committee used to frame their conversation around the best solution for our school facilities.