The overview
In 2021, Georgetown voters approved two of three bond propositions, authorizing the district to issue $333.42 million in bonds for school facilities and capital improvement as well as $16.5 million in bonds for technology infrastructure and equipment. Around $342 million is now tied up in construction and technology projects, Support Services Executive Director Kirby Campbell said in a July 10 workshop with the GISD board of trustees.
The funding has allowed the district to begin construction on new schools and a future-ready complex, while projects to install new sunshades and heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment at some campuses have been completed.
However, the district’s student population is growing faster than it can build.
Quote of note
“Growth has outpaced our opportunity to build new schools,” Campbell said. “So your second selection would be to add portables to some of our existing campuses.”
How it’s going
Construction on Elementary School No. 12 has been put on hold, so the district has used bond funding meant for that project to pay for a new portable building at Wolf Ranch Elementary School. The district is also in the process of getting two additional portables set up at Wolf Ranch Elementary, one portable at East View High School, one at Cooper Elementary School and two at Wagner Middle School before the start of school in August.
Other projects
According to GISD, the district has also completed the installation of sunshades at elementary schools and HVAC equipment at McCoy Elementary Schools. Other construction projects scheduled for completion in the next year include:
- Future-ready complex: summer 2024
- San Gabriel Elementary School: summer 2024
- New Benold Middle School: summer 2024
- Design of High School No. 3: spring 2024
- HVAC equipment at Ford Elementary and Forbes middle schools: August
- Georgetown High School partial reroof: August
- Redesign of old Benold Middle School: fall
- East View High School agriculture barn: September
- Georgetown High School agriculture barn: March 2024
GISD is expecting to see increases in student enrollment over the next several years. Meanwhile, GISD ranks second in annual housing starts and closings, per a demographics report by Zonda. Leander ISD and Liberty Hill ISD rank third and fourth, respectively. To ensure the GISD has the infrastructure and space to accommodate the continued growth, Chief of Technology and Innovation Lannon Heflin said staff will soon ask the board of trustees to consider authorizing the superintendent to convene a new Citizens Advisory Committee.
“In doing so, that CAC will begin to work with us to research what those needs are and then decide whether they want to recommend calling a bond, and I’ll go so far as to say calling a bond for May,” Heflin said.
Next steps
- July 17: Board meeting with update from demographer’s report
- Aug. 7: Workshop with update on facilities plan and outline of possible Citizens Advisory Committee
- Aug. 21: Board meeting with potential authorization of committee
- Feb. 16: Deadline to call May bond election
