Lake Travis ISD looks to realign attendance boundaries as new campus construction stalled
With the Lake Travis school district forced to delay the opening of its newest school, its demographer presented the school board five potential rezoning options to alleviate overcrowding at its seven existing elementaries.
Plans for an eighth elementary school to open in August 2024 were unanimously denied by the Lakeway City Council on Feb. 13 over concerns about traffic near the proposed site in the city at 4528 Bee Creek Road, which is close to two other campuses.
According to its website, the district has been “exploring other potential sites that could adequately accommodate a new elementary campus” since the council’s decision. However, the district says the typical timeline for the construction of a new elementary school is 18 months — meaning that even if the district finds a new site soon, the decision pushed back the expected opening date.
Marco Alvarado, the district’s executive director of communications, said the district does not have an estimated date for the opening of the new campus. However, Alvarado said it is not likely the elementary would open mid-year.
“We have not opened a new school mid-year during my time at Lake Travis ISD,” Alvarado said. “The most significant challenges we would encounter would be staffing and student displacement. Therefore, whenever our next elementary school is completed, we will open in the fall of that particular year.”
The district’s seven elementary schools — Bee Cave, Lake Pointe, Lake Travis, Lakeway, Rough Hallow, Serene Hills and West Cypress Hills — each have a maximum capacity of 850 students.
In a 2021-22 demographic study released by the district, Bee Cave had 825 students, Lake Pointe had 783, Lake Travis had 768, Lakeway had 566, Rough Hallow had 897, Serene Hills had 565 and West Cypress Hills had 609.
Without any changes to the current elementary school zones, the district projects these numbers for each campus in 2023-24: 998 for Bee Cave, 712 for Lake Pointe, 728 for Lake Travis, 589 for Lakeway, 1,103 for Rough Hallow, 567 for Serene Hills and 637 for West Cypress Hills.
The school district is considering four options for new elementary school attendance zones to relieve overcrowding at Rough Hallow and another option to alleviate overcrowding at Bee Cave.
“First and foremost, this is a work in progress. The proposed boundaries are merely drafts; there is no ‘preferred’ or ‘best’ option, and all drafts are subject to change,” the district’s website says. “Not all elementary schools would be impacted by the proposed boundary changes, and it is anticipated that all current middle school boundaries will remain unchanged.”
Alvarado said the district is “studying the anticipated impacts of each proposed change” and is holding a community meeting for parents to provide feedback at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 13, at Lake Travis Middle School. He said he anticipates a decision from the school board on the final rezoning option this month. Once approved, the new elementary school zones will be effective this fall.
The rezoning options to alleviate overcrowding at Rough Hallow are:
Option 1: Rezoning neighborhoods on both the north and south sides of Highlands Boulevard to Serene Hills.
Option 2: Rezoning the neighborhoods of Madrone Ridge, Hillcrest, Davenport Summit, The Summit, Llano Terrace, Hidden Springs, Canyonwood and Creekside to Serene Hills Elementary. Also rezoning the neighborhoods of Sweetwater Ranch, Stonecreek, Highland Lakes and Mesa Ridge to West Cypress Hills Elementary.
Option 3: Rezoning the neighborhoods of Davenport Summit, The Summit, Llano Terrace, Hidden Springs, Canyonwood, Creekside to Serene Hills, and rezoning Madrone Ridge and Hillcrest to West Cypress Hills.
Option 4: Rezoning neighborhoods on the south side of Highlands Boulevard to Serene Hills and moving Madrone Ridge and Hillcrest to West Cypress Hills.
The option to alleviate overcrowding at Bee Cave is:
Option A: Rezoning the neighborhoods of Falconhead West and Madrone Canyon to Lake Pointe Elementary.
The district demographer’s presentation, which includes maps of the proposed elementary school zones, can be found at ltisdschools.org/Page/4858.
According to the district’s website, the demographer’s presentation at the school board meeting was “for informational purposes” and the district “will continue to explore other potential rezoning options.”
“We know some of you will have many questions including transportation services, the continuity of special education programs, and the potential option to ‘grandfather’ your child at his/her current campus,” the district website says. “You may be wondering if these options would impact you and your family at all. Rest assured, we will provide parents with an opportunity to provide their feedback on these proposals in the very near future.”
The next regular meeting of the school board is April 19 at 6 p.m. in the Live Oak Room at the Educational Development Center.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lake Travis ISD looks to realign attendance boundaries
