Leander ISD will open its first early childhood center to prekindergarten students in 2025.
Two-minute impact
The board of trustees voted to open an early childhood center at a district-owned site off Halsey Drive in Leander using $60 million in 2023 bond funds allocated for repurposing facilities at an Oct. 26 meeting. The board also approved an architecture firm to design the center, which will open for the 2025-26 school year.
The decision follows a recommendation from the district’s Bond Oversight Committee and Long-Range Planning Committee. At a Sept. 21 meeting, the planning committee recommended opening an early childhood center to relieve capacity at elementary schools in the northern part of the district.
The new center will provide prekindergarten services to 3- and 4-year-olds currently offered at 18 of its elementary campuses. The district had over 1,000 prekindergarten students as of October, LISD Chief Communications Officer Crestina Hardie said.
While prekindergarten enrollment is currently based upon eligibility, Hardie said the district may begin offering tuition-based prekindergarten if the center has capacity. The district may also include its Parents as Teachers program for parents of children ages 5 and under at the center, and it may consider offering additional programs during the design phase, Hardie said.
How we got here
The early childhood center comes as several elementary schools in the district’s northern portion have reached or exceeded capacity. While the opening of Elementary School No. 30 in 2024 will provide relief, some elementary campuses will still be at or overcapacity, projections show.
“There's a lot of density in the north and it's particularly in the early childhood,” said Jon Lux, chairman of the LISD Bond Oversight Committee. “That's the current reality.”
District officials said opening an early childhood center in 2025 would provide the fastest relief to northern elementary campuses compared to other options the Long-Range Planning Committee considered.
What they’re saying
"I'm just excited we are putting an emphasis on where learning starts,” board Vice President Anna Smith said. “I appreciate the work. This is a great moment.”
In case you missed it
The Long-Range Planning Committee may also consider repurposing two of the district's underutilized elementary campuses in Cedar Park as new locations for the Leander Extended Opportunity Center and New Hope High School. The LEO Center would then be repurposed into another early childhood center.
The committee will further review and may recommend that option to the board at an undetermined date, Hardie said. On Sept. 21, Superintendent Bruce Gearing said the district may decide against repurposing the elementary schools if those campuses are opposed.
