Lake Travis - Westlake Edition | January 2023

EDUCATION

OTHER STORIES TO FOLLOW IN 2023

BY GRACE DICKENS

BOND PROJECTS The Eanes ISD Bond Advisory Committee identied $130 million in projects districtwide, split into three propositions. The deadline for EISD to call a bond election is Feb. 17. Prop B: $2.41M • Stadium improvements

EANES ISD Following months of presentation and discussion from the Eanes ISD Bond Advisory Committee, the district plans to hold a $130 million bond election in May to fulll a variety of needs within the district between 2023 and the next bond cycle in 2027. The district will propose three propositions in the May election. Proposition A carries the brunt of the cost with $114.9 million and includes most of the funding for facility upgrades, energy and eciency improvements, and student program enhancements. Facility upgrades include parking lot repairs; partial roof replacements; outdoor activity surface replacements; and heating, ventilation and air conditioning improvements. Additionally, energy and eciency funding includes the installation of solar panels, athletic lighting upgrades and building system enhancements. The committee also proposed the improvement of student programs as part of Proposition A. These projects include district technology infrastructure improvements, several ne arts equipment upgrades and transportation upgrades. Proposition B would allocate $2.41 million to athletic facility upgrades for improvements related to Chaparral Stadium, and Proposition C includes $12.69 million for

ADVANCED PLANNING

Prop A: $114.9M • Facility upgrades • Energy, eciency improvements • Student program enhancements • Safety, security upgrades

Leander ISD’s rezoning process will take place throughout the rst half of 2023 before going into eect in 2024-25. The district collects community input on zoning plans. The district hosts a minimum of two community forums and records feedback. JAN. 23MARCH 10 MARCH 20APRIL 3

Prop C: $12.69M • Technology upgrades

Total: $130M

SOURCE: EANES ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

nonessential technology upgrades. The district has not made a full breakdown of these proj- ects by proposition available at the time of publication, but breakdowns of each project category are available in the district’s series of presentations on the bonds available on EISD’s website. The bonds will not increase the district’s tax rate, which remains at $1.0046 per $100 valuation, district documents show. The board plans to call the bonds Feb. 7 for the upcoming May 6 election.

APRIL 1721

MAY 11 AND JUNE 8 The board of trustees discusses and votes. Sta presents recommendations to the planning committee.

SOURCE: LEANDER ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Leander ISD sets timeline for rezoning decisions The district is preparing to construct Elementary School No. 30, set to open for the 2024-25 school year. Around $63 million has been budgeted for the project. The district has gone through the design phase and is ramping up to begin construction with no groundbreaking date set. Its opening will require LISD to rezone elementary students—particularly those in the northern portion of the district where the school is being built to relieve overcrowding. Before that takes place, LISD leadership is starting the process to review and rezone all secondary schools.

Lake Travis ISD begins new elementary construction, plans for future athletics bond

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Following the failure of Proposition C for $93.8 million in Lake Travis ISD’s November bond election, here are projects the district will revisit for a potential November 2023 election. PROJECTS BY LOCATION High School No. 2: • Football stadium and track • Baseball and softball elds • Tennis courts Lake Travis High School: • Stadium renovations • Women’s and men’s eld house additions $56.4 M $34.6M Hudson Bend Middle School: • Turf and track surface replacement • Stadium sound system upgrades • Additional physical education space and eld events $2.16M Lake Travis Middle School: • Turf replacement $600,000 SOURCE: LAKE TRAVIS ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT • Baseball concession stand • Outdoor golf hitting bays • LED lighting replacements

BY GRACE DICKENS

While Proposition A for $548.41 mil- lion in facilities and Proposition B for $60.79 million in technology passed in November, Proposition C for $93.8 million in athletic spending failed. As a result, the new high school is slated to be built with a gym as the only athletic facility, and several proposed facility improvements and turf replacements were also denied. In response, the district plans to reconvene the LTISD Long Range Facilities Planning Committee in the spring to discuss a potential Novem- ber bond to account for the loss, Norton said. The timeline for when the commit- tee will be reconvened has not been determined, but the district planned to provide an update at the Jan. 18 school board meeting, after press time. “I think us coming together in January is really important so that we can start that process because we can’t have a facility that doesn’t serve our student population fully,” board member Kim Flasch said.

LAKE TRAVIS ISD Following the passage of two propositions in Novem- ber for $602 million, Lake Travis ISD began work on Elementary School No. 8 in January. The district approved construction manager Bartlett Cocke for the project in December, along with a list of professional services providers to pull from for the next ve years for future renovations, additions and new construction projects. The district purchased land o Bee Creek Road for Elementary School No. 8 in May, documents show. Addition- ally, the land for High School No. 2 o Reimers Peacock Road was ocially purchased in December and will allow the district to get a head start on getting the site ready for construction, Superintendent Paul Norton said. The land search for Elementary School No. 9 is ongoing, and the district will continue to evaluate existing and new land made available, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Pam Sanchez said.

Lake Travis ISD outlines legislative priorities

With the Texas legislative session running from Jan. 10-May 29, Lake Travis ISD outlined its key areas of concern in December with adoption by the board slated for Jan. 18, after press time. Many priorities identied by the board were focused around school funding, such as calling for an increase to the basic allotment per student, which has not been updated since 2019. The board additionally called for ballot language to be transparent and understandable for voters and for a shift in the way accountability is calculated for schools through academics.

LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION • JANUARY 2023