As superintendent of a Texas school district that’s projected to gain almost 4,000 students in the next five years, Scott Muri says his district is desperate for more classroom space.
The schools he leads in Ector County are bursting with kids, many buildings are more than a half-century old and residents keep flooding in, lured by the bustling industry and cheaper real estate of West Texas. Yet, in May, voters rejected two bond proposals totaling $398 million to build new facilities and update existing ones – forcing at least another year of cramped classrooms at a time when construction and borrowing costs have surged, making much needed improvements more expensive.
“We don’t put things out to the voters that are on the wishlist, we ask them for what we need,” Muri said in an interview. The residents of the Ector County Independent School District, which includes Odessa, voted against the measures that would have built a new high school, career center and funded construction upgrades including plumbing, mechanical, and fire safety improvements.
