EDUCATION BRIEFS
News from Leander & Liberty Hill ISDs
QUOTE OF NOTE
Committee adds members, goals
JOINING THE COMMITTEE
HIGHLIGHTS LEANDER ISD The district broke ground on Elementary School No. 30 on April 28. The school, which is funded using bond savings from previous projects, will be located in the northwestern portion of the district near Devine Lake Park. It is slated to open for the 2024-25 school year. LEANDER ISD The district is expecting a higher recapture payment with recent projections sitting around $50 million, according to Chief Financial Ocer Pete Pape. While LISD won’t know the exact gure until the last day of school, Pape said at an April 27 board meeting, average daily attendance has been lower than expected, bumping that gure up from an estimated $36 million. LEANDER & LIBERTY HILL ISDS Both districts put a bond before voters May 6, after press time. If passed in full, the $762.8 million and $471.1 million bond packages for Leander ISD and Liberty Hill ISD, respectively, will fund new facilities and renovations at existing ones as well as technology upgrades. Visit communityimpact.com/voter- guide for election results. Leander ISD board of trustees will meet May 11 and 25 at 6:15 p.m. at 300 S. West Drive, Leander. 512-570-0000 www.leanderisd.org Liberty Hill ISD board of trustees will meet May 15 at 6 p.m. at 301 Forrest St., Liberty Hill. 512-260-5580 www.libertyhill.txed.net Austin Community College board of trustees will meet June 5 at 3 p.m. at 6101 Highland Campus Drive, Austin. 512-223-7000 www.austincc.edu MEETINGS WE COVER “TO GO FROM 8,000 TO 18,000 STUDENTS , WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO BUILD THINGS. … AND IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WE NEED THE COMMUNITY TO HELP SUPPORT THAT INVESTMENT.” STEVE SNELL, LIBERTY HILL ISD SUPERINTENDENT
The deadline to apply for the long- range planning committee for the 2023-24 school year is May 19.
Students, parents and stakeholders can nd the application on Leander ISD’s website here:
BY GRANT CRAWFORD
LEANDER ISD The district is expanding its long-range planning committee to add members who will advise sta on rezoning attendance areas, repurposing facilities, and setting timelines for the construction of future schools and buildings. The group will have three subcom- mittees, each reviewing school choice policies, repurposing facilities, and ideas for shared learning and commu- nity workshops. As part of the May 6 bond election, after press time, several projects to receive funding would go to repurpos- ing district facilities. LISD originally presented a plan in which it would have repurposed schools within the central and southern portions of the district, turning them into early child- hood centers, a professional learning center or a new high school.
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The committee will be divided into three subcommittees reviewing:
School choice policies
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Repurposing facilities
Ideas for shared learning and community workshops
SOURCE: LEANDER ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
The district has since changed its plan and will partner with the com- munity to prioritize keeping neighbor- hood schools open and determine the best use of all its facilities.
Cost of 7th elementary school increases by $3M
BY ZACHARIA WASHINGTON
project. ES No. 7 is funded through Liberty Hill ISD’s 2021 bond program. “We need to be more in line with our projected numbers moving forward,” Trustee Kendall Carter said. Included in the rst contract are concrete, structural steel, an eleva- tor, mechanical systems, electrical, earthwork and site utilities, Akin said. Bartlett Cocke General Contractors— which was selected as the project’s general contractor in October—will carry out the work. The nal contract covering remain- ing expenses will be presented to the board in May. The school is anticipated to open in August 2024.
LIBERTY HILL ISD The estimated cost of Elementary School No. 7 has increased by $3 million due to rising material costs and ination, according to a presentation at the April 17 board of trustees meeting. At that meeting, trustees awarded the rst contract for the school for an amount not to exceed $24.1 million. This contract serves as an early bid package that allows work on ES No. 7 to move forward, Director of Construc- tion Dustin Akin said. The school is now expected to cost $42 million, up from the district’s original budget of $39 million for the
SCAN TO FIND OUT MORE
FUNDING FUTURE SCHOOLS
Money for Elementary School No. 7 comes from the voter-approved $457.7 million Proposition A of the 2021 bond.
$39 million : original budgeted cost
$3 million : increased cost of materials and in¡ation
$42 million : total cost
SOURCE: LIBERTY HILL ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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LEANDER LIBERTY HILL EDITION • MAY 2023
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