The board of trustees voted to select construction managers to expand the campuses at a Nov. 17 board meeting. Construction will begin in September and is expected to be complete by August 2027, Director of Construction Dustin Akin told Community Impact.
The background
LHISD began building its new elementary campuses to accommodate 1,000 students with the opening of Lariat Trails Elementary in 2026 and Saddleback Elementary in 2027.
Currently designed for a capacity of 800 students, Bill Burden Elementary has 764 students followed by 757 students at Rancho Sienna Elementary and 698 students at Santa Rita Elementary, according to district data.
The district's enrollment is expected to grow from more than 10,400 students to nearly 19,500 students by the 2034-25 school year, according to a November demographic update from Zonda Demographics. The rate of enrollment growth has slightly slowed from previous school years despite the district continuing to see an increase in students, LHISD interim Superintendent Travis Motal said.
The cost
The board approved $27,000 in pre-construction fees for the projects using funding from the district's 2021 bond. The board would need to approve a guaranteed maximum price for each campus at a later date, Akin said.
Budgets for the three projects total $23.5 million and will be funded by the 2023 bond.
Bill Burden expansion
- Construction manager: Balfour Beatty
- Pre-construction fees: $10,000 from the 2021 bond
- Estimated total budget: $9.5 million from the 2023 bond
- Construction manager: Core Construction
- Pre-construction fees: $7,000 from the 2021 bond
- Estimated total budget: $7 million from the 2023 bond
- Construction manager: Joeris General Contractors
- Pre-construction fees: $10,000 from the 2021 bond
- Estimated total budget: $7 million from the 2023 bond
Bill Burden will undergo a renovation alongside the expansion, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning work, plumbing improvements, finish upgrades and a full kitchen renovation, Akin said.
What they're saying
"We're being efficient with the bond dollars, and we're not having to build another elementary school for an extended amount of time," trustee Brandon Canady said. "That saves millions to our overall [maintenance and operations] budget by not having to staff [another] school that we don't necessarily need at this time."
Looking ahead
LHISD is estimated to open new campuses in the following school years based on enrollment projections, Motal said:
- Middle School No. 4 in the 2031-32 school year
- High School No. 3 in the 2033-34 school year
- Elementary School No. 10 in the 2035-36 school year
