Bastrop ISD town halls present changes to attendance zones, ask for feedback

BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — The Bastrop Independent School District is planning to change attendance zone boundaries to accommodate a student population projected to more than double in the next 10 years.

The district will host two town halls this week so families can give their feedback before the school board officially takes up approving the new boundaries next year.

Cedar Creek Middle School Cafeteria

• Date: December 9, 2024
• Address: 125 Voss Parkway, Cedar Creek, Texas
• Time: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Bastrop Middle School Cafeteria

• Date: December 10, 2024
• Address: 725 Old Austin Highway, Bastrop, Texas
• Time: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Cassandra Balderas, spokesperson for BISD, said the district expects the proposed redrawn lines to go before trustees for consideration on January 21.

According to BISD, the district's boundaries are being reworked to include a ninth elementary school and two additional middle schools. Those would be funded by bonds approved by voters in 2021 and 2023.

Balderas said the middle schools are being refashioned from two existing intermediate school campuses. During these changes, the students who would have attended the intermediate campuses will now be divided among BISD's middle schools, Balderas said.

The existing and proposed boundaries can be viewed on Bastrop ISD's website.

School Board trustees hear plan for town hall, goals for new boundaries

At a BISD school board meeting on Nov. 19, trustees listened to what the district hopes to accomplish by reworking attendance zones.

BISD Deputy Superintendent Kristi Lee presented the schedule for the December town halls at the meeting.

During her presentation, she noted the district's projected growth and the work it presents for facilities to accommodate it.

"Our goal is to create school boundaries that are balanced in student population, that minimize neighborhood disruption, and that factor transportation routes and needs. These new boundaries take effect in the fall of 2025," Lee said.

Balderas said if interested parties cannot attend either town hall, they can still give feedback by sending their comments to news@bisd.tx.org.