Demographer continues forecast for growth in Leander ISD

Area school district enrollments of 2016-17 vary in the Austin-Round Rock area. Leander ISD has added more
than 5,000 students since the 2011-12 school year. Source: Leander ISD

By DAN TROXELL , LISD Superintendent

Families and children will continue to stream into our world-class Leander ISD schools, according to the district’s recently released annual demographer report.

As the highest growth district in Austin — and the 10th-highest growth district in the entire state — our board of trustees, leadership team and community must continue to anticipate the challenges and opportunities that go with being a destination school district.

Demographic experts from Texas A&M University provide annual updates for projected student enrollment over the next 10 years, providing the district with recommendations for future school locations, construction and staffing.

Here are five takeaways from the most recent report:

  • Our community can expect 45,889 new housing units in the next 10 years, an increase of 4,498 units from the study in 2016. That figure includes single family homes — making up 55 percent of the total — in addition to apartments, condos and senior living complexes.
  • LISD will need nine new schools between 2019 and 2026, including six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. This estimate is a decrease of one elementary school from the 2016 report. The demographer recommended the district build its next elementary school, no. 27, in the Larkspur subdivision in Liberty Hill, relieving Plain and Pleasant Hill elementary schools. The report indicated Elementary School 28 should alleviate Akin, Parkside and Pleasant Hill elementary schools in 2020; Elementary schools no. 29 and no. 30 will provide relief to Elementary School no. 27 and Mason Elementary School. Elementary schools no. 28 and no. 29 are predicted to be located in the Bryson and Travisso communities, respectively.
  • Of the 192,792 residents in Leander ISD, 93 percent of the 41,100 student-aged children are choosing our public schools. Because of our talented teachers, caring community members and influential leaders, we continue to maintain our reputation as an elite school district, and families take notice when buying homes.
  • Kindergarten enrollments will continue to support the district’s growth. When the current class of 2018 was entering school, the kindergarten enrollment at LISD was 1,613. Now, we have 2,779 high school seniors. The kindergarten cohort for LISD’s class of 2028 totaled 2,558 students.
  • Growth has been higher than expected in new subdivisions, while regeneration in established neighborhoods is slower than the 2016 forecast. While LISD added 1,231 new students from communities with homes under construction, it lost 486 students from completed subdivisions. Our demographer expects the regeneration to occur at a slower pace, but builders in LISD still have room to grow over the next 10 years, as new homes will spur LISD across the 50,000 student mark in 2027.

With growth comes opportunities for new programs and new choices for students. In the coming years, our focus will be on creating opportunities for the students in our classrooms, while keeping an eye on the future.

A child typically starts school at the age of five and continues until he or she is 18. Do you remember what the world was like when our senior class entered school in 2005? If we continue to support our children with the care they deserve, we will need an entire community focused on one vision and one purpose, for #1LISD.