The Dripping Springs ISD community will have an opportunity on May 5 to vote on a $132 million bond package aimed at increasing district capacity and updating facilities.

If approved the bond will not increase the tax rate, which is currently $1.52 per $100 home valuation, according to district documents.

According to district demographer’s moderate growth projections, Dripping Springs ISD enrollment could increase by about 71 percent over the next eight years. District enrollment is expected to exceed the current facilities capacity of 7,350 students by the 2020-21 school year.

If approved a significant project will be the construction of the district’s fifth elementary school, with a capacity of 850 students. District spokesperson Dale Whitaker said an ideal location for the school would be between RR 12 and Sawyer Ranch Road on the north side of Hwy. 290, although an official location for the school has not been determined. The school would open in fall 2021, she said.

The bond package also includes funds to build a new Walnut Springs Elementary School near Dripping Springs Middle School. After construction of the new school, the old campus would be converted to house district administration and the district’s day care. If the bond is approved, the campus would be constructed for the 2021-22 school year, Whitaker said.

Dripping Springs High School will be renovated to add new classrooms and labs, increasing the  campus’ overall capacity by about 750 students, she said. Other maintenance and renovations throughout the district are also outlined in the proposed bond package.

“[The district] also has a school-by-school maintenance assessment that will result in some improvements made at all of our campuses,” Whitaker said.