RISD Leadership Provided the Board of Trustees With Several Important Updates During the August 20 Board Work Session
Richardson ISD Middle School Construction Update
Exciting progress is underway at six of our junior high schools as part of the Middle School Transformation Project, bringing us closer to modern, innovative spaces designed for learning and collaboration.
All six campus construction sites successfully opened to welcome students for the start of the Fall 2026 semester following community and staff updates held in April/May and early August.
Campus Construction Status & Milestones:
- Liberty MS: Construction fencing, site mobilization, and temporary parking are complete while a bus loop and front drive remain open for parents and buses. Construction on the new building is currently ongoing.
- Apollo MS: Fencing, portables with covered walkways (“Panther Village”), and the temporary administration suite are complete. Ongoing work includes renovations of the existing facility and building the new additions.
- Parkhill MS: Fencing and temporary parking are complete, with the bus loop staying active. Underground utility work for the new building is ongoing.
- Richardson North MS: Portables, covered walkways, and demolition of the northwest building corner are complete. Active projects include general renovation of the existing campus and construction of the new additions.
- Westwood MS: Fencing, mobilization, front drive access, and temporary fire lane construction are complete. Soil conditioning, basement excavation, and new building construction are underway.
- Richardson West MS: Fencing, mobilization, existing front and east drive remain opened, and demolition of the Richardson High School baseball field are complete. Installation of storm water infrastructure, moisture conditioning, and new building construction are active.
For ongoing updates and full project details, visit the RISD Bond 2025 Website.
Transportation Department Update: Every Student, Every Trip Matters
Richardson ISD’s Transportation Department shared an update on its fleet, technology, staffing, safety initiatives and financial operations which all focused on providing safe, reliable transportation for students.
RISD operates 189 school buses, transporting approximately 6,000 students each day and traveling more than 1.1 million miles annually. Every bus is equipped with Samsara AI technology and six cameras to support safety, GPS tracking, vehicle diagnostics and more. Families can also use StopFinder to track buses, while Wayfinder provides student ID badging, it also continues to track students as they badge on and off their buses.
The department’s 260 employees participate in ongoing safety training, professional development and leadership programs. Transportation also has detailed emergency procedures, including protocols for quickly responding when a student is reported missing.
In FY 2025-26, Transportation operated with approximately $11 million in expenditures, with about $2 million in state funding and the remainder supported through local funding.
From technology and training to emergency preparedness, the Transportation Department remains committed to one standard: Every student, every trip matters.
Richardson ISD Expands Teacher Incentive Allotment System
RISD is continuing to expand its Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) system to create more opportunities to recognize and reward high-performing teachers while supporting the district’s North Star Goal: Every student, teacher and leader will meet or exceed their academic growth goals.
TIA is a state-funded system that recognizes top-performing teachers with a designation on their teaching certificate and a financial allotment. RISD has intentionally expanded the system based on campus readiness and staff input.
TIA helps RISD recognize excellent teaching, support teacher retention and reward educators who help students grow. The system focuses on student growth, not simply achievement, while also considering teacher performance, professional learning, goal setting and feedback from students and parents.
In 2026–27, 38 RISD campuses are participating in TIA, including all campuses in the Berkner and Lake Highlands learning communities. This represents significant growth from 2023–24, when TIA was implemented at just seven elementary campuses. RISD currently has 45 Recognized, 104 Exemplary and 36 Masters designated teachers.
In addition to seeing an increase in students’ performance, at RISD’s TIA campuses, teacher turnover decreased from 29.41% in 2021-22 to 13.63% in 2024-25, a 15.8 percentage-point decrease.
Looking ahead, RISD will continue expanding TIA to additional campuses and teacher types while strengthening the systems that support fair, consistent and meaningful teacher recognition.
