Jarrell Growth IS ON THE BALLOT

ALL VOTERS WHO LIVE WITHIN THE JISD BOUNDARIES CAN VOTE IN THE BOND ELECTION, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY HAVE CHILDREN WHO ATTEND THE DISTRICT. THIS AREA INCLUDES ALL OF JARRELL AND SONTERRA, PARTS OF THE ETJ, PORTIONS OF SUN CITY, AND AN AREA IN NORTH GEORGETOWN JUST WEST OF IH-35.

The bond proposal includes:

Jarrell ISD has grown by more than 50 percent since the last bond election and is projected to double in size over the next five years.

 50 percent growth equates to 1,300 students added in the last two years.

 Doubling in size equates to nearly 7,500 students enrolled in Jarrell schools by the 2027-28 school year.

 When today’s kindergartners start high school, Jarrell ISD is projected to have more than tripled in size, with more than 11,600 students enrolled.

Nestled along the bustling I-35 corridor, our oncetiny bedroom community has transformed into one of the most rapidly expanding places to call home in the entire United States and a vital sign of this community’s impressive growth is the skyrocketing enrollment at Jarrell ISD. The 2022/23 attendance is more than 3,600 —a 158 percent increase over the last seven years and the driving force behind a bond package that will come before voters May 6. To meet the growing educational needs of the community, the school district is proposing a $324.6 million bond that would add three new schools and fund renovations to the high school and district facilities.

Dave and Georgia Lovelace have lived in Sun City for 17 years and are staunch supporters of Jarrell ISD’s bond. “‘Build it and they will come’ has been replaced in Jarrell with, ‘they are here and we have to build.’ We want those children living in Jarrell to have good, safe schools. We will vote yes to the proposed 2023 bond issue to ensure every child has a safe and compatible classroom.”

Elementary school #4: 120,000-square-foot school for 900 students, estimated to open in August 2025, $48.49 million

Elementary school #5: 120,000-square-foot school for 900 students, estimated to open in August 2027, $55.11 million

Middle school #2: 145,000-square-foot school; phase one will accommodate 700 students with room to grow to a 1,200-student capacity, estimated to open in August 2025, $89.37 million

District Operations Center: Create a transportation center with maintenance bays and a fueling station, estimated to open in August 2025, $17.33 million

Enhanced technology: $1.37 million

Paw Prints Facility: Upgrade the child development center, $6.38 million

Transportation: Add 16 school buses and eight fleet vehicles, $3 million

Jarrell High School: Increase capacity to 2,200 students, expand the Ag Barn, add a Career and Technical Education wing, Fine Arts wing, library, administration, and general classrooms; estimated completion in December 2025, $92.59 million

Security: Additional security cameras and access controls, $945,972

Utility improvements and land acquisition for future facilities: $10 million

Janet Hage is one of the bond committee’s 45 members, which include district staff, community members, parents, and students. She believes the JISD bond is essential to the Jarrell community. “With the projected growth set to double in the next five years, we are wise to be prepared for our students,” she says. “I am not just a long-time resident, parent, and grandparent. I am a local developer; I know what’s coming. Education builds great communities, and the heart of this community is our schools.”

Camy Reynolds, President of Sonterra MUD, has a front-row seat to Jarrell's incredible growth. With a current population estimate of 14,000 in the Sonterra MUD alone — only a portion of the total population served by Jarrell ISD — it is no surprise that the area's schools are feeling the strain.

Igo Elementary, which has only been in operation for four years, is already overpopulated, with a student body of 1,031, far exceeding its advertised capacity of 800. To accommodate the overflow, the school now relies on six portable classrooms. Similarly, Jarrell Elementary School, which was designed for 608 students, has had to turn to portables to provide instruction to its 876-strong student body.

Jarrell Middle School also has portables, and the high school will need to add five portables to accommodate the anticipated student and teacher population in the next school year. Camy says, “The passing of this school bond is crucial to not only get us caught up on the amount of space we need right now, but to also give us the opportunity to be proactive in preparing for future growth.”

Committee member, parent, and Jarrell resident Rebecca Beach agrees the school district needs to be prepared for the city’s growth. “I am in commercial construction, so I see how much industry is coming to the area, which supports the demographic reports we reviewed as a committee,” she says. “We're growing exponentially... you have to put [the students] someplace.”