2022 EDUCATION EDITION
Optimizing existing facilities With most of the growth being in the northern portion of the district, there has been some discussion on rezoning campuses and eciently using existing facilities to allow relief in the north. Typically, rezoning occurs when a new school opens. However, the Long Range Planning Committee has rec- ommended additional rezoning to relieve congested campuses and utilize existing facilities to the fullest extent, according to district documents. Rezoning can generate more bal- anced attendance rates at all cam- puses, Disler said, allowing better use of facilities. He said it also creates a bet- ter learning environment—when cam- puses are overpopulated, it is “not as good for the students” on that campus. District sta plan to begin strategic rezoning as early as this fall. “When we rezone, we’re opening a new school, but with this plan, it really is going to be more strategic zoning,” Disler said. “The zoning we really need to start this fall is secondary, and it has nothing to do with building a new school. It is really to o¢oad some of the campuses that are overcrowded.”
Stang challenges Although enrollment numbers are steadily on the rise, the district still does not have the adequate number of teachers and auxiliary sta to support this year’s attendance. “If you don’t have teachers in the classroom, you’re going to have larger class sizes, and individual attention that we’ve been able to aord each and every student is going to suer,” Cog- burn said. As of July 21, LISD had 208 campus vacancies with 95 of those being teacher positions, Chief Human Resources Ocer Karie Lynn McSpadden said at a board meeting. The district also had 402 noncampus vacancies, which includes child nutrition services, cus- todial services and transportation. District data shows North Elemen- tary needs 53 sta members to support its 1,468 students starting in August. The district issued salary increases for all sta in May, but board President Trish Bode said they can only do so much to retain and recruit teachers. In addition to a $15 per hour minimum rate, LISD increased teacher, nurse and counselor salaries by 5%, and by 4% for
After Proposition A—which included the funding for ve new schools—failed last November, the Long Range Planning Committee was formed to develop a plan that spaces out and even eliminates the number of campuses being built in the next 10 years. Past Plans vs. Future Plans OLD PLAN NEW PLAN
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new schools by 2026 elementary schools middle school high school
new schools by 2031 elementary schools middle school high school
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SOURCE: LEANDER ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
the meantime, the district is hosting job fairs, informational sessions and building partnerships to address the stang shortage. “If we don’t have sta, we don’t have facilities; if we don’t have counselors and all the programs and supports in place, we’re not going to meet stu- dents’ needs,” Grimes said.
all other employees. “The state Legislature in¦ated teacher salaries [in Dallas and San Antonio] in order to attract teachers, because your cost of living is higher there,” Trustee Elexis Grimes said. “So in their formula, they get more dollars to pay their teachers.” Austin’s formula has not changed despite rising housing costs, she said. In the next legislative session, Grimes and Bode plan to advocate for higher pay and aordable housing in LISD. In
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