Students from the southwestern portion of Rough Hollow Elementary's zone will be moved to West Cypress Hills Elementary School, and students from the northeastern portion will be moved to Serene Hills Elementary School.
The decision comes after the city of Lakeway denied a development agreement for the construction of Elementary School No. 8, and LTISD Vice President Bob Dorsett Jr. said the district did its part.
“We did what we were supposed to do,” Dorsett said. “We found land; we bought it. We designed a building, and it was turned down.”
LTISD Superintendent Paul Norton said the district worked with the city of Lakeway to design Elementary School No. 8.
“We designed it with [city of Lakeway] support from their staff,” Norton said.
Dorsett said LTISD had to make a decision about rezoning because the city of Lakeway halted the construction of the new elementary school.
“We’re all in a very impossible situation that none of us want to be in,” Dorsett said.
LTISD Trustee Lauren White said rezoning and hiring additional staff for campuses to address overcrowding are short-term solutions.
“I think we need to come up with a plan that’s going to get us through, and we’re not relying on another body that we have no control over making the decisions that are going to impact educational outcomes,” White said. “At the end of the day, we’re responsible for the educational outcomes, and we can’t put that on anybody else.”
LTISD Trustee Phillip Davis said he wanted the community to understand that this is a districtwide issue, and capacity is more than just the capacity of classrooms.
“What I understand about the overcrowding at Rough Hollow is that it’s not the classrooms that feel crowded. It is the hallways; it is the specials; it is recess and the playground,” Davis said.
Dorsett said his own children had been rezoned while attending LTISD schools numerous times.
“For those of you being impacted, you’re not alone,” Dorsett said. “We’ve all been through it. It’s part of living in this great district.”
