Back on track: Boom towns
Courtesy photo
A student swims in the newly renovated James W. Hardin Swim Center at Temple High School.
Boom towns
Increased numbers of students affect Temple, Belton, Salado BY JOEL VALLEY TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
There’s a student boom in Central Texas and school districts along Interstate 35, the state’s busiest highway, are seeing students arrive by the dozens every month — an accelerating growth forcing many administrators to evaluate both short- and longterm solutions. In the Temple and Belton independent school districts, campus improvements are actively underway.
Map showing location of Temple ISD campuses. Page 42 But Temple school board President Dan Posey is excited for the developments. “It’s the first time we’ve seen growth in TISD in decades,” he said when a recent demographic report projected a sharp rise in enrollment. “We’ll definitely need it to make decisions about future and immediate needs for our district.”
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Templeton Demographics’ report pegs Temple ISD to reach more than 9,700 students by the 2025-26 school year as more than 6,900 future housing lots are planned within its boundaries. Bob Templeton, vice president for Templeton Demographics, said his firm anticipates this growth in the real estate market to draw 600 new homes annually in about five years — an increase in population that would shift zoning measures for two Temple ISD campuses. “We do expect (new homes per year) to go from 200 to 600 in
Map showing location of Belton ISD campuses. Page 43 about five years … and RayeAllen Elementary and KennedyPowell Elementary will see the largest increase in new singlefamily homes,” Templeton said during Temple ISD’s board meeting March 8. That increase in new homes could push enrollment at these Temple ISD campuses past their “total functional capacity,” and June 27, 2021
