A proposed May 2013 Pflugerville ISD bond election may be postponed as the district considers alternatives to the immediate construction of a fourth high school.

PISD Superintendent Charles Dupre announced at the Sept. 11 Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce luncheon that the move to postpone the bond election was a reaction to concerns about rising taxes in the community.

"We expect to call off the May bond referendum and push it back to November [2013] and maybe May 2014," Dupre said. "If the city needs to do a bond to build roads and the district needs to do a bond to build a school, we want to time those things so they're palatable to the community."

PISD has been in the planning stages of developing a bond package to fund the estimated $90 million cost of building a new high school. The district hired a construction firm in June to assist with the design of the proposed school and in August approved a $5.96 million purchase of a 149-acre tract of land in East Pflugerville. The district was hoping to have the new high school built and operating in time for the 2015-16 school year.

Only days after the announcement of the land purchase, however, PISD pulled out of the agreement amid concerns over the cost to the city for road improvements to the proposed site and complaints from citizens regarding the cost of the land.

"We are re-evaluating our options after learning of the concerns expressed by respected members of our community," Dupre said in a Aug. 16 statement released by the district.

Dupre told the chamber members that among the options PISD is considering now is the rezoning of the school district and expanding existing high schools. Dupre, however, noted that with the expected swelling of district enrollment through the coming decade, those options would only serve as stopgaps for the eventual need of a fourth Pflugerville high school.

"We are expecting to add 6,000 students in the next 10 years which will require us to build one new high school, one middle school and three to four elementary schools," Dupre said. "We have the sites purchased for all the locations except the high school.

"If you know anyone who has land east of [Hwy.] 130, we are in the market to buy real estate."