District discusses bond election

The Lockhart school district is hosting a series of community presentations aimed at providing voters with information detailing exactly what sort of facilities and programs will be included in the 2019 bond election.
Affected residents throughout the county will vote on the proposal in the Nov. 5 election.
The first workshop is scheduled to run from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Oct. 9, with the second set to follow from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 22. Both will be held at the ML Cisneros Education Support Center, 419 Bois D’Arc St., Lockhart.
In August, the district’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved an order calling for the $92.35 million bond election at the recommendation of the district’s long-range facility planning committee, which said more facilities are needed to accommodate rapid growth in student population.
According to a demographic report by School District Strategies, student enrollment in the district has increased from 4,500 in 2008 to a record enrollment of 6,120 in 2018. During that same time period, student enrollment increased by 34 percent in elementary schools, 50 percent at the junior high school, and 25 percent in high schools.
Lockhart Superintendent Mark Estrada recently made presentations to both the Caldwell County Commissioners Court and the Lockhart City Council to explain the proposal.
“The functional capacity of the school district is 6702, which means 85-90 percent of the classrooms are being used as designed,” said Estrada. “Max capacity means every square foot of the building is being used. We currently operate at max capacity at Lockhart Junior High School.”
Estrada said the bond aims to address overcrowding at the junior high with the construction of an intermediate school that would house all fifth and sixth graders throughout the district. That, he said, would help alleviate capacity issues at both the junior high and elementary schools.
For more, check out this week’s edition of the Post-Register.