AISD optimistic about plans to relieve at-capacity schools

"We have no hesitation in saying that we are going to provide learning environments for the kids that are great," Executive Director of Facilities Paul Turner said.

Solutions to overcrowding

Some of the most crowded schools in the district include North Austin schools Cook (121 percent capacity), Murchison (120 percent capacity), Hill (115 percent capacity) and Wooldridge Elementary School (112 percent capacity).

Other schools districtwide that have high capacity are Langford Elementary School in Southeast Austin (123 percent capacity), Travis Heights Elementary School in Central Austin (111 percent capacity) and Baranoff Elementary School in south Central Austin (110 percent capacity).

Turner said the district sees an average increase in enrollment of 833 students a year. However, he does not anticipate any overcrowding challenges that the district cannot manage through adding portable classrooms, changing school boundaries or creating more special programs such as dual-language to better disperse students.

"The first and foremost thing that we try to always focus on is making sure that the instruction for the kids is what it needs to be, and we'll go to whatever lengths we need to go to, to make sure that we preserve that kind of environment so that the teachers and the principals can carry out their mission," Turner said.

He said AISD has few options to deal with overcrowding besides using existing capacity, constructing new buildings or finding another way to create space, such as portable classrooms.

In the fall, the AISD board of trustees is scheduled to discuss boundary changes and other possible solutions for dealing with overcrowding. Turner said the district is analyzing where the growth is occurring to determine what its next steps will be. In June, the board began looking at the district's transfer policies and facilities master plan, which could take a significant amount of time to complete, said trustee Ann Teich, whose district covers North Austin.

"The district is doing what it can right now to alleviate overcrowding," Teich said."That will take some time, and we will need to engage the public with that."

Background

The failed Proposition 2 from the May 11 election would have provided substantial breathing room throughout the district. Funds would have gone toward land acquisition for future campuses, built three new elementary schools and added 13 classrooms at Murchison, 10 at Burnet Middle School, eight at Pillow and three at Hill Elementary School. Districtwide, 50.3 percent of voters denied the proposition, according to AISD.

Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said the district appreciates voter support and schools in North Austin will still benefit from the propositions that did pass.

"We are really grateful, especially to North Austin," Carstarphen said.

In the district's 2004 and 2008 bond elections, a total of nine new schools were included to address at-capacity schools, including Dr. Janis Guerrero Thompson Elementary School and an unnamed elementary school to be located at 2011 W. Rundberg Lane. An existing building will be repurposed for the unnamed school, and the project is in the design phase. The unnamed school will provide some, but not enough, relief for Hill, Carstarphen said.

Guerrero Thompson elementary school is slated to open in August. Upon completion, it will be 98,000 square feet, with 40 classrooms on 17 acres and will provide relief to Wooldridge and McBee.

Parent feedback

Northwest Austin resident Karen Flanagan has two children at Anderson High School. Flanagan did not vote for any of the four propositions and said that bond money should only be used for big projects that require contractors, such as removing portables and building new cafeterias. Flanagan said one solution to overcrowding might be to move students as well as teachers to other campuses to better distribute capacity.

"There is room to move; you just have to be creative," Flanagan said.

Valerie Tyler, a Northwest Austin resident and parent of children in AISD schools, is a member of the Boundary Advisory Committee for AISD and voted for all four propositions. Speaking as a resident and not as a representative of the committee, Tyler said she thinks the proposition failed because of misconceptions about school needs and state funding for education.

"They think that we're in the situation that we are in, in terms of overcrowding and crumbling facilities because previous administrations have mishandled funds that they receive from the State of Texas," Tyler said. "That money that comes from the State of Texas funds the operations of the school and cannot be used to build new schools."

Tyler said overcrowding needs to be dealt with in the next few years, but she has faith in AISD leadership to address the issue. She said despite overcrowding, academic rigor and excellence is still present within the district.