Hays CISD trustees indicated they will vote March 28 for the district's third high school to be built in the northwest portion of the district, near Buda Sportsplex, Dahlstrom Middle School and Carpenter Hill Elementary School.near Dahlstrom Middle School and Carpenter Hill Elementary School.[/caption]The district started the site selection process last fall with four potential sites. Two sites on the east side of the district were ruled out because they were too close to to Lehman High School to be considered. In addition to the northwest site, the district also considered a site located in the northeast portion of the district.
“This northwest site is not the perfect site, but it is the best site,” board President Meredith Keller said. “I look forward to voting for this on Monday.”
The northwest site was chosen because a site selection committee composed of volunteers within the district found it to be superior to the northeast location in terms of proximity to emergency services, condition of nearby roads, site elevation, accessibility of the site, site utilities. Community input also indicated the majority of residents preferred the northwest site.
The northeast site was found to be superior in terms of the distance students would have to be transported to the new school, affect on attendance boundaries, affect on the environment and proximity to current, near-term and future growth.
The district will likely present voters with a bond in May 2017, which, if approved, could allow the new high school to be built by 2019, Hays CISD spokesperson Tim Savoy said.
According to district estimates, there will be 6,234 high school students in the district by 2019. By 2020, there are expected to be 6,514.
District officials agreed it will not be long before growth within the district necessitates discussion about high schools four and five.
“The need will be there,” Savoy said. “It will be a matter of bonding capacity. That will all tie in to the continued growth in this community.”
If a bond is approved in 2017 and the third high school is targeted to open in time for the 2019-20 school year, the district will redraw high school attendance zones in 2018 in preparation for the new campus. Savoy said doing it a year before the new school opens will give district families an opportunity to plan where they will be sending their children to school.
