As the school year winds down, the work is only beginning for administrators in both Midland and Odessa. Like the rise in the price of oil, student population continues to rise in both districts. That’s why district leaders are hard at work on a plan to make sure there’s room for everyone.

“Our next year priorities are to have a space for a kid, have a desk for a kid, have the best teacher in front of that kid,” Jeff Horner, Executive Director of Secondary Education at Midland ISD said.

Short-term solutions include changing boundary lines and adding more portable classrooms.

Midland ISD board members approved moving secondary boundary lines for the first time in decades. More than 300 students who are currently in the Goddard JH attendance zone will now be split between Alamo and Abell Junior Highs.

“It’s basically the only way to accommodate those kids until we look at building new facilities,” Horner said.

It’s the same story in Odessa; Ector County ISD also just approved changes to elementary and middle school boundary lines.

“We’ve got some room at some schools where we really don’t have room,” Superintendent Tom Crowe said. “We’re removing large overcrowding at some schools and putting some mild overcrowding at others.”

The plan takes students who live south of Interstate 20 and currently attend Ector Middle School and moves them either to Bonham or Nimitz Middle Schools.

The district also made changes to alleviate overcrowding at a few elementary schools. Students currently zoned for Jordan Elementary would be shifted to Goliad or Ross Elementary Schools. Some students east of Ross would shift to Ireland Elementary, and a larger area currently zoned for Buice Elementary would be moved to Blanton Elementary.

The common denominator in all boundary changes in both Midland and Odessa: new housing developments. New neighborhoods are being built in both cities. District leaders say they’re working with city planners to coordinate those neighborhoods with the right school without creating more overcrowding.

“You can see that the district is overwhelmed right now,” Midland ISD parent Gary Lambert said.

Increased enrollment has been a challenge for several years and like everything in our area, it’s driven by the rise and fall of the oil industry.

Though, unlike previous booms, families that moved to West Texas before prices dropped in 2015 didn’t leave.

“Public education has not seen a downturn in student population, regardless of oil and gas,” Collin Sewell, member of the ECISD bond committee said.

With another rise in oil, already packed campuses are about to be under even more stress.

Here’s what both districts are working with:

In Midland, they’re ending the school year with over 25,600 students. ECISD has more, sitting at more than 32,200 students. A demographic study shows that by 2020, Midland could have over 28,000 students and ECISD could have up to 38,000.

New boundary lines will get both districts through the next three years, but beyond that, leaders say more must be done.

“I fully anticipate the growth of this community will necessitate that we come forward with a bond issue to get more facilities to accommodate our community’s growth,” MISD school board President Rick Davis said.

ECISD has the same mission: creating a bond proposal that the community will support. Voters turned down nearly $300-million bond six months ago that would’ve provided funding to build new schools.

“We have to understand that we have a growing student population, a growing community and we have to do everything we can to support it,” Sewell said.

Both districts have created committees to determine the what’s needed most.

“We plan to listen more about what people would really like to see,” Superintendent Crowe said. “At the end of the day, it’s their schools.”