LISD roaring with another record enrollment

By Kyle Mooty

LPR Editor

All campuses at Lockhart ISD opened the 2024-25 school year on Tuesday with about 6,850 students, or almost 200 more than its previous school year enrollment, which was then a record high.

Mark Estrada, who has served at the LISD Superintendent since 2018, is overseeing the bulge not only in student enrollment but also with construction growth. Lockhart High School is expanding with a two-story, 626-seat and 19-classroom addition in its new science and academic wing, all expected to be completed by January 2025.

A 4,000-square foot addition to the cafeteria will expand seating there by well over 400 to about 1,100. That project was expected to be completed by the opening day of school on Tuesday.

Also, a 2,300-square foot addition is under way for the Fine Arts facility which will include a large practice and recording room for the music department.

In athletics, Lockhart High School athletics have moved up in class to the University Interscholastic League (UIL) 5A Division 1 from 5A Division 2 last year. In 2009, the Lions competed in 4A.

Estrada said all LISD campuses “are currently at or approaching capacity.”

A sixth elementary school – Borchert Loop Elementary – is under construction and is expected to open in August 2025.

“All construction projects are on schedule at this time,” Estrada said.

In recording growth in a five-year period from 2017-2018 to 2022-2023, Lockhart ISD (8.7 percent growth) is far behind the numbers at Liberty Hill (95.6 percent), Elgin (25.1 percent), Dripping Springs (23.8) and Bastrop (14 percent), but is ahead of San Marcos (3.2 percent), Manor (1.6 percent) and Pflugerville (0.6), and well ahead of growth by Austin ISD, which had a minus 10.1 percent in enrollment over that time frame.

LISD has boomed from 4,636 total students in 2009 to 6,619 in 2023, and now projects to have more than 2,200 students than it enrolled 15 years ago.

Estrada noted LISD is about 99 percent staffed.

There are four new principals at LISD. They include Amalia Villareal at Carver Early Education Center (she is replacing Monica Saldivar, who is now the Bilingual Director).

Amanda Epsztein is the new principal at Navarro Elementary (replacing Adam Miller, who is now the Director of School Safety and Communications).

Michelle Hale is the new principal at Clear Fork Elementary (replacing Rebecca Leonard, who has retired).

And most recently, Cristina Vazquez was named the new principal of Alma Brewer Strawn Elementary (Dr. Benjamin Grijalva has accepted a position with Houston ISD.)

Last year, the percentage of LISD students living outside the Lockhart City Limits increased to 63 percent. The most enrollment growth within LISD over the last three years came from the west side of Lockhart and the Lytton Springs area.