Archived -- Department of Education: Texas

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

A Back to School Special Report on the Baby Boom Echo - August 1997

TEXAS

The state of Texas is second only to California in projected enrollment increases over the next ten years: estimates show that Texas will need to educate 414,000 new students by 2007, a nearly 11 percent increase. Roughly half of the 1,044 districts in Texas are currently building new schools. Houston, Dallas, Brownsville, San Antonio, El Paso, and the Rio Grande Valley are the areas experiencing the most overcrowding. In Brownsville, for example, roughly 20 percent of all classroom space is portable.

The state estimates that districts are spending about $1 billion of their own funds on school construction, while the state legislature has $200 million earmarked for school construction over the next two years. Texas tried to issue a bond eight years ago but it was not successful; they have not tried since. In 1996, Texas school districts passed 75 percent (72) of the 96 bond issues proposed. The state has recently developed a program that helps low-property valued districts make bond and lease-purchase payments.

Austin has experienced a 33 percent increase in their total enrollment between 1984 (55,024 students) and 1994 (73,191 students). District school officials report that school overcrowding has been a significant problem since the late 1970's; for example, portable classrooms account for approximately 30 percent of the district's elementary classrooms. Since 1983, the district has proposed four bond issues, three of which passed, totaling $659 million. A 1996 issue for $369 million is funding the building of eight new elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school.

The total enrollment in Northside Independent School District has risen by more than 20,000 students between 1984 and 1994, representing a 59 percent increase in the student population. Current construction projects include five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, and the district is currently using 280 portable classrooms. Jim Martin, Executive Director for Facilities and Operations, could not estimate whether revenues would cover these projects, but lamented that "there is never enough money to do everything." Northside is planning to put a bond initiative on the ballot in the fall of 1998 to support school construction, and has had some success passing bond issues in the past.

In the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, enrollment has grown nearly 69 percent over ten years: from 29,300 in 1984 to 49,364 in 1994. Overcrowding is a significant problem at all levels. They plan to have a bond issue in December of 1998 to help fund and shape new construction needed district wide. They are currently relying on portable classrooms -- about 75 portables will be used next year on 48 campuses districtwide -- to address their short term needs. Cypress-Fairbanks relies heavily on issuing bonds to fund school construction projects: all past proposals have passed, the most recent of which was for $60 million. These initiatives generally receive strong support from the community.

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