The district received an additional 752 students across all grade levels during the 2021-22 school year. Zonda then forecasted in March that the GISD could grow by another 1,001 students, or 7.9%, for the 2022-23 school year and 854 students, or 6.3%, for 2023-24.
However, GISD’s enrollment growth for the current school year finished at 546 students. Bob Templeton, vice president of the school district segment at Zonda, attributes the downtick from the original forecast to higher interest rates on mortgages, an increase in the time it took to build new homes and a rise in homebuyer cancellations.
The interest rate on a 30-year mortgage in spring 2022 was 3.5% with an average monthly house payment of $1,905, according to Zonda. By the fall, interest rates had risen to 7%, driving the average monthly house payment up to $2,765—an increase of 45.15%.
With 60 actively building subdivisions in the GISD boundaries, though, along with 27 future subdivisions and development activity occurring in around 2,200 lots, Templeton said Georgetown will continue to be a fast-growth district. He now projects the district to experience more than 4% growth over the next nine years due to the rise in available jobs and homes.
“The job growth continues to be very strong and that outlook is strong,” Templeton said. “Right here in Georgetown, we’ve got at least five distribution centers under construction. ... So we’re continuing to see those industries related to the technology boom that’s happening from the Samsung, Tesla and many of the other technology industries that are moving into this area. “
Wolf Ranch Elementary School is expected to exceed its capacity by more than 5% by the 2023-2024 school year, as the area is averaging more than 1,000 homes built per year. Meanwhile, Williams and Mitchell elementary schools are projected to reach capacity in the next two to three years.
At the secondary level, Wagner Middle School and East View High School are expected to exceed more than 5% of their maximum capacities by the 2023-24 school year.
