Education
BY JANE TURCHI
Bastrop ISD to build 2 new schools
The background
Prior to 2021, the district had not passed a bond since 2007, despite being a fast-growth Texas district. The 2021 and 2023 bonds will fund $499.3 million worth of projects:
“BISD is a fast-growth school district and continues to experience steady growth as more families and new businesses choose to relocate here,” said Lee Raspberry, the director of construction and planning at BISD, in an email. Along with new construction, the bonds fund repairs for existing schools as well as the construction of athletic and fine arts facilities.
Bastrop ISD is in the process of selecting land for the district’s ninth and 10th elementary schools. The new schools are part of the 2021 and 2023 bond programs to address enrollment growth as well as critical system upgrades and replacements. The district expects to accommodate 3,150 more students by the 2028-29 school year as student enrollment is projected to grow 3.5% each year.
May 2021 bond
Total $177.83 million
Growth and instructional capacity projects: $76.07 million Colony Oaks and Camino Real elementary schools: $64.38 million General renovations and improvements: $27.97 million
Bastrop ISD enrollment projections District capacity
Safety and security upgrades: $9.41 million
12K 15K
14,861
New school construction and expansions: $272.77 million School renovations: $31 million Police operations facility: $17.73 million May 2023 bond
0 3K 6K 9K
Total $321.5 million
*2023-24
2024-25
2025-26
2026-27
2027-28
*FALL 2023 STATS
SOURCE: BASTROP ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Bastrop elementary school capacity
Capacity with portables
Over capacity
2023-24
2024-25
2025-26
2026-27
2027-28
What’s next?
1,000 1,200
200 400 600 800
The district’s next major project will involve the conversion of two intermediate schools into middle schools, minimizing class size for grades six to eight. Raspberry said a third comprehensive high school will likely be the district’s next new construction, although it is years away. “We will continue managing our current bond projects with fidelity and meeting the commitments we made to our community,” Raspberry said.
0
Bluebonnet
**Camino Real
Cedar Creek
**Colony Oaks
Emile
Lost Pines Mina Red Rock
**OPENED TO STUDENTS IN FALL 2023
SOURCE: BASTROP ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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BASTROP EDITION
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