Montgomery ISD Put Its Online High School on Hold. It Is Redrawing School Boundaries Instead, for August 2028.
By The Magnolia Standard · November 10, 2026
Two nights, two decisions about where Montgomery's children go to school. One plan is parked. The other starts this month and runs almost two years.
This is Montgomery ISD, the district around the city of Montgomery, not Magnolia ISD. Its trustees met in special session on November 2 and again on November 3, and both meetings changed the picture for families there.
The virtual high school is shelved
In October we reported on a plan for a fully online high school pilot that would have opened in the spring 2027 semester. On November 2 the board voted to put it on hold.
The district had surveyed families. Superintendent Mark Ruffin said 797 of 1,049 people answered. Of those, 45% were interested in a hybrid model, and 78 families said they wanted full-time learning at home. A second survey went to about 100 families who had left the district this past year for homeschooling or virtual programs. Six said they would come back for a spring 2027 program. Five said fall 2027.
Trustees questioned the spring start date and whether the surveys spoke for the whole community. Ruffin's statement after the vote: "While a virtual learning option may provide meaningful opportunities for some students, we want to ensure we have thoughtfully evaluated the challenges and are prepared to deliver a program that supports strong student outcomes before moving forward."
There is no date for the board to bring it back.
The boundary lines are going to move
The next night, Chief of Staff Justin Marino gave trustees an enrollment report and a timeline for redrawing attendance zones. The district's long-range planning committee had asked it to fill the buildings it already has before asking voters for new schools in a future bond.
- Near capacity: Oak Hills Junior High, and Keenan and Lincoln elementary schools, where new subdivisions are adding students.
- Room to spare: Lonestar and Stewart Creek elementary schools.
The timeline
- November 2026: an updated demographic report to the board, and an internal district committee formed.
- December 2026: the Long-Range Planning Committee meets again.
- January 2027: a community survey to set the goals and guiding principles.
- Spring 2027: draft boundary scenarios, with community feedback.
- Fall 2027: recommendations to the board for new elementary and secondary boundaries.
- August 2028: the new boundaries take effect.
If you have a child in one of those five schools, the January survey is the first place the district has said it will ask what families want. The board plans regular public updates from December on.
Sources: Community Impact's November 4, 2026 reports on the November 2 vote on the virtual pilot, for the vote, the survey figures and Superintendent Ruffin's statement, and on the November 3 re-boundary presentation, for the campuses, the committee's guidance and the timeline. Corrections: editor@themagnoliastandard.news.