Melissa Schools and the City of Melissa continue to grow and expand. The high school reached the UIL 5A classification with the 2022-23 school year. Therefore, continual construction and expansion of facilities has become necessary.

The high school is currently in “Phase 3,” which includes another four-story academic tower adjoining the current building, a new student parking lot, expansion of the Student Union, and a new rehearsal gym that will double as a storm shelter.

The Crossland Construction Company estimates that the completion date of the expansion will be January 2024. The budget of this project is around $75.9 million. The new academic tower will not only include core classrooms but specialized areas for Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes. Some of the CTE spaces will include technology labs, broadcasting studios, engineering spaces, and makerspace fabrication labs. There will also be areas for fashion design, IT networking, graphic design, health sciences, law enforcement, and even a potential credit union branch location. With the construction of a third gym where the current portables are on campus, there will also be rehearsal space for color guard, drill team, and cheerleading.

The upcoming school year will bring changes to Melissa High School. The Coach Kenny Deel Stadium, estimated to cost around $35 million, will be ready for “Friday night lights” in the fall with a capacity of 10,000 fans, replacing the old Cardinal Stadium which only has a capacity of 3,100. This new facility will have a five-story press box with two VIP rooms, two sky perches, and a large community room. There will also be sections for media and scouts, home and visitor coaches, home and visitor radio announcers, and scoreboard and announcer staff. There will also be common areas, multiple concessions, multiple restrooms, and visitor and official locker rooms. Fans will have lower bowl seating above the concourse level on the west side and band seating in the south end zone.

Additionally, the current middle school principal Marcus Eckert will fill the high school principal position starting with the 2023-2024 year while the current high school principal Kenneth Wooten will transfer to the executive level at home office.

Melissa ISD has also announced plans for a second middle school campus. Construction will begin as soon as possible and the new school will be located across from the Melissa Z-Plex Texas Sports Village. In addition to building a second middle school, the current Melissa Middle School will undergo major renovations.

More growth of Melissa ISD will also include adding a fifth elementary school. The fourth elementary campus, Sumeer Elementary, is already under construction and is set to open in the fall of 2023.

Melissa ISD is one of the fastest growing school districts in Collin County and ranks in the top 50 out of 965 school districts in Texas by SchoolDigger.com in which students perform in the top 3-5 percent in academic and extracurricular programs.

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