The site, which is located at the intersection of Weiss Lane and Pleasanton Parkway just south of Weiss High School, will hold the district’s 22nd elementary school and seventh middle school. Construction on the schools will run simultaneously, and both campuses are expected to be move-in ready by July 2021, according to district timelines.
Design plans for the new elementary school show the campus will be able to house 850 students across 39 academic classrooms, six smaller classrooms and fine arts facilities.
The new middle school will have a capacity of 1,200 students and feature 27 classrooms, nine science labs, fine arts facilities, career and technical education classrooms, two separate gyms, fine arts amenities and an outdoor courtyard. Plans for the middle school campus also include a stadium, including bleachers, a press box, lights, a six-lane track and a field, according to district documents.
The elementary and middle schools are budgeted for $30.91 million and $53.35 million, respectively. Funding for the projects comes from PfISD’s voter-approved 2018 bond.
Rapid growth is expected and planned throughout the eastern portion of PfISD’s district boundaries, according to district officials.
“Historically, Pflugerville ISD was a quiet, rural farming community that is continuing its transformation at warp speed, evidenced by traffic congestion and infrastructure needs,” PfISD board President Vernagene Mott said.
Four single-family housing neighborhoods—Sorento, Verona, Carmel and Vine Creek—are currently under development just east of Weiss Lane between East Pecan Street and Rowe Lane, according to the city of Pflugerville’s residential development map.
Those four neighborhoods have delivered a combined 1,001 units, according to city documents. Those neighborhoods are planned to ultimately deliver an additional combined 3,122 units.
In early December, Community Impact Newspaper first reported city officials are considering an application for a mixed-use development referred to as Lakeside Meadows. That development would bring a combined 72 acres of single-family residential village homes, single-family attached village homes and multifamily residential units, according to city documents.
PfISD was forced to order and install six portable classroom buildings at Mott Elementary in eastern Pflugerville in late August after the number of elementary-aged students who showed up on the first week of classes exceeded the district’s projections.
The campuses that broke ground today will help address some of that immediate growth in eastern Pflugerville, school district officials said.
“[SH] 130 is the midpoint of our district, so about 50% of our future growth is going to be in this area. We're seeing about 3,400 students in the next five years, which will translate to about 700 students each and every year,” PfISD Superintendent Doug Killian said Dec. 16.
Killian added PfISD will break ground on its 23rd elementary school campus in spring 2020. That will be the last new school construction project funded by PfISD’s 2018 bond funds.
