BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – East Central ISD, which stretches across southeast Bexar County from Victor Braunig Lake to Interstate 10 and Loop 1604, has plenty of open space, although it is filling up quickly.

“Everything out here was just farmland. There are a lot of houses now, a lot,” said St. Hedwig resident Kim Rollins.

The new subdivisions emerging have already helped East Central ISD’s enrollment increase by about 2,100 students in the last decade to the projected 11,920 for the current year.

But it’s nothing compared to the growth the district is preparing for the next nine years. It expects to more than double its enrollment to 25,617 students by the 2033-2034 school year.

In the face of that explosive growth, the district is asking voters to greenlight a second high school for $198.9 million and two new elementary schools, costing $50.6 million and $49.7 million.

Proposition BThe total bond package of $331.1 million, one of four ECISD proposals on district voters’ ballots, also includes money for renovations and expansions to East Central High School’s agricultural facilities, a new gymnasium at the high school and $4 million for additional land to purchase land for future campuses.

The request comes after voters already approved a $240 million bond package in 2022 that included the construction of a new middle school and two new elementary schools.

East Central ISD spokesperson Brandon Oliver told KSAT that the district expected it would have to go back to the polls after the 2020 bond election.

““We listen to our community,” he said. “I mean, they wanted a new high school, but according to demographers, we would reach 120% occupancy of the elementary schools first. So the first need was to address that and also give us a third high school to reduce that congestion.”

As to whether the 2024 bond buildings will be enough to house the projected more than 25,600 students nine years from now, Oliver said: “It’s supposed to take care of the expected growth. But, you know, as we move forward, we may, after reviewing the facilities, need additional space.”

ECISD planning is based on work done by a College Station demographer, Population and Survey Analysts (PASA).

in a spring 2024 In a study for the district, PASA projected there would be nearly 44,600 additional home occupations in October 2033 compared to last fall.

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The district has four bond proposals on the ballot.

Proposals C and D are also bond packages, but for sports facilities. Proposition C would be for a $10 million renovation of East Central High School’s Hornet Stadium, while the $18.9 million Proposition D would provide improvements to the baseball and softball facilities, in addition to renovating the tennis building and constructing new courts.

Proposition AHowever, it would ratify the new higher tax rate the school board already set for the budget year. The money would help pay higher salaries for teachers, pay for additional police officers and cover additional security measures.

The $6.6 million change to the district’s annual budget from Proposition A includes $2.8 million the district expects to receive from the state.

In total, the district says the four proposals would cost the average ECISD homeowner $378 per year in additional property taxes.