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and renovating existing ones to better accommodate LISD’s steady growth. “Fortunately, we’ve been very tight with the money—we always are— because it doesn’t grow on trees,” Chief Facilities Ocer Jimmy Disler said. “So we want to make sure it’s used for the facilities when we need them and not just go spend the money because it’s there.” No bond, new plan Proposition A of LISD’s November bond package included the design and construction of three elementary schools and one middle school as well as the construction of one additional elementary school, whose design was included in the 2017 bond. Last year, Community Impact News- paper reported LISD prepared to open eight new schools, six of them being elementary schools, by 2026 to meet growth needs. However, after the committee’s six- month planning period this year, the district now plans to open six new schools over a 10-year period. The new plan includes four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. This new plan also caused a few school openings to be delayed. The district announced plans to open Mid- dle School No. 10 in 2024-25 or 2025- 26, but since the bond package failed, the date was pushed back to 2029-30 in the most recent Long Range Plan- ning Committee report. Still, growth in LISD continues. The district’s demographer report includes low-, moderate- and high-growth sce- narios that show the district could add between roughly 3,600 and 13,700 stu- dents in the next 10 years. The mod- erate-growth scenario indicates about 9,000 more students by 2031, includ- ing roughly 1,900 more students this
Leander ISD is now planning to build four elementary schools in the next 10 years to serve the age group growing at the fastest rate. The district is expected to gain more than 4,800 elementary students by the 2031-32 school year, with the majority of the growth concentrated in the northern portion of the district, according to the demographer’s report. LISD’s Long- Term Planning
183A TOLL
1431
UPCOMING SCHOOL
Elementary students added by 2031-32
Elementary School No. 29 : North Elementary Address: 1840 Pleasant Hill Road, Leander Projected opening date: Days before school starts Aug. 17
< -30
-29-0 1-19
620
20-49
2222
Estimated number of students: 1,468 Estimated number of sta members: 53
50-99
100-149 >150
SOURCE: LEANDER ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
school year. Disler said the majority of this growth will be located in the north and northwest parts of the district. According to the report, more than 800 elementary students will be added to each of the Bagdad, Tarvin and Mason attendance zones and more than 500 will be added to the Lark- spur and Plain elementary attendance zones in the next 10 years. “The growth doesn’t happen every- where; it is happening in the north part of our district, where the central and southern part of the district is declin- ing enrollment, which has caused underutilized facilities,” Disler said. North Elementary, the district’s 29th elementary school, will open
days before school starts for the 2022- 23 year. Located in the north portion of the district, North aims to relieve capacity constraints at Larkspur and Plain elementary schools. The district’s Bond Oversight Com- mittee also recommended starting construction of Elementary School No. 30, which will be funded by sav- ings from previous bonds. ES 30 will be located in the northwest part of the district, and it is intended to provide capacity relief at Akin and Rutledge elementary schools. In the meantime, district sta have shifted their focus to building porta- bles for campuses that have reached functional capacity.
Chief Financial Ocer Elaine Cog- burn said there will be about 15 por- tables across the district. Moving, leasing and outtting these portables will cost the district about $1 million. Campuses receiving portables include Larkspur Elementary, Dan- ielson Middle and Glenn High schools, all located mainly in the northern sector of LISD. “Because we failed the bond in November, some of our projects have been put on hold, or are on a dierent schedule now, and so we are starting to have campuses that are going to see more students than their functional capacity can hold,” Superintendent Bruce Gearing said.
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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