A demographic report highlighting predicted growth for future school years was presented during the Hutto ISD Board of Trustees meeting April 8. The report included a 10-year forecast of enrollment by campus compared to current building capacities.

At the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, Hutto High School’s enrollment was 2,403 students; the campus was built for a capacity of 2,400 students, according to the presentation given by Assistant Superintendent of Operations Henry Gideon. With the ninth grade center set to open for in-person classes this fall, the student population in Hutto High School is expected to decrease to an estimated 1,822 students with the center projected to have 750 students.

By the 2025-26 school year, enrollment projections are expected to exceed campus capacity in all of the schools except Howard Norman Elementary.

Board President Billie Logiudice said demographic numbers are what drive the discussion of renovation projects, such as the interior renovations of Hutto Middle School and Farley Middle School. The board approved the total minimum price for the middle schools’ renovations during its March 25 meeting.

In 2020, there were more than 2,300 home sales within Hutto ISD, Gideon said. Since 2010, foreclosures within the district decreased by more than 98% with an increase in new home sales by more than 400%, he said.

There are over 7,000 planned future residential lots within the district, according to the presentation. New developments can put a strain on the city and school district as far as infrastructure and student population are concerned, Gideon said. Because of this, the district asks for “school-site set-asides” to be included in development agreements. The set-asides are requested as a donation, he said.

“If there’s an elementary school in a development and it’s a hot market, and we’re helping to sell homes and we got developers competing for our attention. I think it’s reasonable to say, ‘You will donate 20 acres for a school-site set-aside,’” Gideon said.

Currently, the district has land inventory options for two more elementary schools and two options for middle school development, according to the presentation.