“I am convinced we need a High School [No.] 2, but I'm also convinced that I could be wrong,” board member John Aoueille said. “I want more information so that I can comfortably and confidently say absolutely we need another high school.”
What’s happening
At a March 26 meeting, the board approved American Constructors as its contractor to build High School No. 2 off Reimers-Peacock Road near Hwy. 71. The district would not be committing to the construction work until approving a guaranteed maximum price, or GMP, at a later date, said Pam Sanchez, assistant superintendent for business services.
Additionally, the board approved a $11.88 million contract with Liberty Civil Construction for developing Reimers-Peacock Road near the campus, Sanchez said.
During the board's discussion, Aoueille said he believed the district should receive more demographic data before opening the campus in 2028.
“I think our trend is we are shrinking,” Aoueille said about the district’s enrollment. “I want to see more data to define that trend. Is this a trend? Is this something that is temporary or is this something that's going to continue?”
The district is expected to receive the results of its next demographic study in December. Waiting for the new study would likely delay the school’s opening until 2029, Sanchez said.
Aoueille said he had lost confidence in the district’s demographer and would like to consider working with a new organization.
The backstory
Last year, the board voted to reduce the capacity of High School No. 2 from 2,000 to 1,500 students after new demographic data showed that the district’s projected high school enrollment would decline by 500 students.
Over 2,300 new homes planned for the district will no longer be built on over 2,000 acres of land Travis County residents voted to conserve in a November bond election, said Stacey Tepera, president of Population and Survey Analysts, at a meeting in March of 2024. Rising interest rates slowed new housing construction and home resales while the district saw smaller incoming kindergarten classes, she said.
In November, district officials decided to postpone the opening of High School No. 2 from 2027 to 2028. The district’s enrollment declined by around 260 students from last school year, according to a 2024 PASA report.
What they’re saying
Board member Kim Flasch said she was concerned about opening a new school as the district faces a mounting budget shortfall amid stagnant state funding.
“It really concerns me that we will get our district into a predicament that we're going to end up like Eanes ISD having to shut down schools and then we've got full buildings that are sitting there that aren't being used,” Flasch said.
LTISD could be impacted by the state implementing a school voucher program that would allocate public dollars for private school tuition, Aoueille said. In February, the Texas Senate passed a $1 billion voucher-like program known as education savings accounts.
Board member Robert Aird said he believed not building the campus would hurt LTISD’s ability to compete with other schools for students.
“I believe the future of public education is competition,” Aird said. “We are going to need to compete, and I think not doing it puts us in a far worse position to compete for those students than doing it.”
Delaying the school’s opening by a year could cause some community members to move out of the district, board member Keely Cano said. The hallways at Lake Travis High School, which has around 3,500 students, were not designed to accommodate 4,000 students, board member Lauren White said.
“A second high school, I believe, is in the best educational interest of our students in our district,” White said. “Our community has been very clear that they would like a second high school.”
