3. SCHOOL BOND PASSES
Dripping Springs area voters seemed to be in high spirits this past weekend with a decisive majority voting “For” the Dripping Springs ISD bond, “For” the North Hays County Emergency Services District #1 tax cap increase and “For” each of the Wild Ridge Municipal Utility District propositions.
The general election — which was held on Saturday, May 6 — saw an overall low turnout, with around 7,400 of over 32,000 registered voters showing up at the polls, according to the unofficial results from Hays County. Still, that approximately 23% was enough to approve DSISD’s $223.7 million bond package and elect its two new trustees.
“Thank you, voters!” DSISD posted on its social media platforms. “According to unofficial results, 64% of votes cast approved the May 2023 Bond, the highest percentage in more than 25 years. In addition, Kim Cousins and Rob Mc-Clelland were elected to three-year terms on the DSISD Board of Trustees.” Incumbent Trustee Ron Jones was not re-elected.
The passing of DSISD’s bond package enables the school district to move forward on a sixth elementary school, an expansion of Sycamore Springs Middle School and various safety, security and technology updates. The district will also begin to design a seventh elementary school, a third middle school and a second high school.
In the Nov. 8 general election last year, Dripping Springs ISD voters did not approve any of the propositions included in the 2022 bond referendum, which had a final price tag of $481.1 million.
The work on the May 2023 bond began following the November election with a series of board workshops to regroup and develop a plan to serve the district’s rising student enrollment and capital improvement requests. These workshops focused on reviewing and confirming the project requests, understanding the reasons why voters rejected the district’s November 2022 bond referendum, analyzing line item pricing, including the analysis and validation by an outside third-party pricing consultant, tours of the district’s oldest properties to view the renovation and repair requests and developing different packaging options for consideration.
The May 2023 bond package includes both a focus on the district’s growth, as well as capital improvements and renovations on DSISD’s oldest campuses and campus security and ADA updates on all district campuses. While it includes funding for the design of a second high school in Dripping Springs, it does not include funds for the actual construction of the building as the 2022 bond package would have.
Projections for DSISD expect a significant increase in students over the next few years. Student enrollment sat at 8,539 students for the DSISD 2022–2023 school year. In five years, that number is expected to reach 12,189; in ten, 15,800. For more information, visit dsisdtx. us.