Lamar Consolidated ISD officials said they are preparing for a possible 2025 school bond three years after voters approved $1.52 billion of projects in November 2022.
In a nutshell
The bond will aim to continue addressing what demographers have coined as “hypergrowth” enrollment in the district, LCISD Superintendent Roosevelt Nivens at the Sept. 25 Promise to Parents brunch. The district has more than 46,700 students, outpacing demographic projections, and the district is expected to reach an enrollment of 65,292 by the 2033-34 school year, according to district data.
The details
Nivens said the bond could include:
- New schools
- Secondary complexes
- Land purchase and development
- Safety and security items
- Technology items
- Transportation
A portion of bond projects will focus on adding elementary schools across the district, including in the northern Fulshear area, Chief Operations Officer Greg Buchanan said. Secondary Complex No. 8—funded by the 2022 bond and set to open in fall 2027—isn’t yet supported by elementary schools.
“We only have elementary schools through the fall of 2026. At that point we have no more [funds for] elementary schools,” he said. “If we need to open up, which we do, roughly two elementary schools in 2027 and 2028 and 2029, then there has to be a bond sometime in 2025.”
Located in the Cross Creek West community, Secondary Complex No. 8 will be built on 100 acres near Woods Road/Jordan Road and FM 359, south Twinwood Parkway, according to a news release from Cross Creek West. The complex will include a middle, junior high and high school.
Looking back
Voters approved three propositions in LCISD’s last November 2022 bond that funded land sites for future schools, new schools, renovations, safety and security upgrades, a career and technical education center, and new technology, Community Impact reported.
All remaining projects from the 2022 bond will be under construction by January, Buchanan said.
“We’re still highly pursuing our 2022 bond—the construction of it—and we’re gathering data to see what does the data say, when do we go out next and what does that need to look like?” he said.
What’s next
Architects should finish assessing the district’s facilities this fall to get a better idea of bond needs, Buchanan said. Demographic firm Zonda will also present an updated report to trustees in November. A bond cost estimate wasn't available as of press time.
The district will also form a bond citizen committee, potentially in summer 2025, before the board of trustees vote on a bond proposal, he said. Texas elections are set to take place in May and November 2025, according to the Texas Secretary of State Office's website.
