What happened: The Midland ISD Board of Trustees voted 6–1 on Tuesday, Feb. 17, with Trustee Tommy Bishop voting against, to approve a three-year Senate Bill 1882 partnership with Third Future Schools (TFS) to operate South Elementary beginning in the next school year. District leaders said the decision was a targeted intervention for a campus that received an F rating in 2025 and has struggled with sustained academic performance for nearly a decade.

Under Senate Bill 1882, districts partner with outside organizations to run specific campuses in exchange for extra state funding and more flexible rules, but the schools must meet performance goals set in their contracts.

Why it matters: South Elementary received an F overall rating in 2025, including an F in student achievement and closing the gaps, and a D in school progress. Since state accountability ratings resumed after COVID, South earned a D in 2023, improved to a B in 2024, and fell back to an F in 2025. District administrations also said the school has struggled to keep effective teachers and staff.

“South did not become an F overnight. It’s been languishing for the better part of a decade,” Trustee Matt Friez said. “Our response hasn’t matched the urgency to our students that they deserve. We have far too many students there who are more than two grade levels behind, and that is simply not acceptable.”

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The big picture: District officials pointed to prior TFS partnerships as evidence that the model can produce faster improvement. Lamar Elementary moved from an F to a B in the first year under Third Future and then to a C the following year. Administrators also cited a TFS turnaround at Sam Houston Collegiate Preparatory Elementary.

Go deeper: Later in the meeting, trustees voted to convert Lamar from a neighborhood school into a districtwide disciplinary alternative education campus, which will end Lamar’s TFS partnership. District officials said staff currently at Lamar could shift to South Elementary, while current South Elementary staff in good standing could transition to open positions across the district.

Key points:

  • Transparency: Bishop said he was concerned that parents did not have enough advance noted. Superintendent Stephanie Howard said that the district met with South parents and sent written notification to families who could not attend.
  • Finances: Bishop also said he was concerned about the finances of the transition. District officials said they expect the net cost to the district to be roughly $434,000.

“I can assure you that the district is actually going to benefit more under the negotiated contract for South than it did with Lamar,” the district’s finance officer said, adding that staff and performance gains were part of the value proposition.

Board president Josh Guinn challenged focusing only on the short-term cost. “What’s the monetary impact to the taxpayers when we have 13 years of students not meeting grade level?” he said. “I really don’t want to find out.”

Trustee Brandon Hodges described the partnership as “A tool in the toolbox,” arguing the academic upside “surpasses and offsets” the projected net cost.

  • Teacher certification: Trustee Sara Burleson noted that state law does not require charter operators to follow the same teacher certification rules as districts. However, you do not have to be certified to teach at MISD. At the board’s January meeting, the district noted that 16% of teachers in foundational K-5 classrooms lack the required certification.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation argues that the current certification system emphasizes abstract educational theory. The think tank encourages the education system to recognize real-world experience as a qualification for teaching, rather than a certificate alone.