Salado ISD is a destination district in Central Texas
School quality has a significant influence on neighborhood choice and home values.
Salado ISD is a destination district in Central Texas. Our enrollment has increased by 506 students or 38% over the past five years. Our schools have a positive impact on our residents’ property values. New out-of-district transfer enrollment has been closed for over a year now (other than children of employees, siblings of current transfer students, or children of active duty military or disabled veterans) and real estate agents are seeing an even higher demand for homes here. All of this contributes to our district’s past, current, and projected resident enrollment growth – a trend that is expected to yield 939 more resident students within the next 10 years.
When you add our rising resident student enrollment with our aging facilities, it creates stressed capacities across the district. What does stressed capacity look like?
-Our elementary school is already over capacity. It was built in 1967 and the classrooms are undersized by current state standards. Students have to go in and out of three or four buildings every day (main building, K/1st wing or portable building, gym, and cafeteria). Many students are housed in portable buildings. There are two remaining portable buildings that could be used for additional classrooms.
-Our intermediate school is already over capacity. The computer lab, science lab, and conference rooms have been converted into classrooms because of lack of classroom space. There is no remaining space to convert into additional classrooms.
-Our junior high school is projected to be over capacity by this upcoming school year (August 2018). Many students are housed in portable classrooms. There is one remaining portable building that could be used for an additional classroom.
-Our elementary, intermediate, and junior high school entrances do not provide a smooth and safe flow of students and visitors.
-Drop-off and pick-up at the elementary, intermediate, and junior high schools create significant traffic congestion on Thomas Arnold Road, Salado School Road, and West Village Road.
-Our high school is projected to be over capacity by August 2022. We recently purchased four portable buildings that could be used for additional classrooms.
-Our athletic facilities were built around 1980 when we were a 1A district with about 400 students (as compared to our current 4A classification and enrollment of 1,854 students).
-Our band, choir, and theatre programs all perform in our two cafeterias that are not large enough to accommodate the number of students, parents, employees, and community members that attend many of these events.
Our facilities committee is working on a long range plan in response to these facts, our rising resident student enrollment, aging facilities, and stressed capacity. Our long range facilities planning committee will meet again this coming Monday, January 8, at 6:00 p.m. at the Salado ISD Administration Building/Civic Center. The committee will be considering and discussing potential projects that would address safety, classroom capacity, athletics, and fine arts. All of these meetings are open to the public.
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