The Lake Travis ISD board of trustees considered possible sites for the district’s seventh elementary school and third middle school during its Sept. 15 meeting. The proposal is contingent upon voter approval of LTISD’s projected 2017 bond.

Jim Ratcliff, senior director of facilities and construction, presented data from the district’s demographer that showed the need for the additional facilities. He said Elementary School No. 7 is projected to open in 2020 with a capacity of 850 students, and Middle School No. 3 is projected to open in 2021 with a capacity of 1,200 students.

The 12-acre site for Elementary School No. 7—planned for Bee Creek Road and Highlands Boulevard in Rough Hollow—was donated by developer Haythem Dawlett in 2014.

The tract has road access to both Bee Creek and the interior streets of Rough Hollow, with water and sewer services available, Ratcliff said.

Middle School No. 3 is proposed for the 135-acre tract that houses the district’s Distribution Center at 16101 W. Hwy. 71, Bee Cave. The site functions as a receiving, shipping and warehouse facility with access to both Hwy. 71 and Hamilton Pool Road. Water and sewer service is available to the tract from the Lazy Nine MUD.

Although another option for the Middle School No. 3 site exists on the Hert Tract off Bee Creek Road and Hwy. 71, the site is not optimal since it is too close to Lake Travis Middle School to serve other areas; it does not fit well with the projected growth model for the district; and no traffic light is planned for the immediate future in the area, Ratcliff said.

He said the district plans may include upgrading Middle School No. 3 into a second high school that will accommodate about 2,500 students.

Board members discussed options for the district’s second high school—including creating a smaller, magnet-style academic school as opposed to a full-purpose high school.

Ratcliff said the site plans presented are “very early planning studies that are still undergoing review and revisions which have not been approved.”

Superintendent Brad Lancaster asked the plan’s architects if they had considered reversing the layout of Middle School No. 3 on the site to allow for easier access to the front of the school. He said the plan presented shows the main road entering the back of the school, forcing visitors and staff to drive around the school to access the school’s front entrance.

Architect Chuck Fields said the site’s topography presented a challenge for placement and the plan mimicked Lake Travis Middle School’s plan. He said he would review other site ideas.

However, Lancaster said the site for Elementary School No. 7 is a good fit.

“Rough Hollow for Elementary School No. 7 appears to be pretty clear-cut,” he said. “The question is what do we do when we open a second high school?”

Lancaster said the site plans will return to the board for further review.