Boerne Independent School District officials broke ground on the Champion High School expansion Tuesday, marking one of many steps in a voter-sanctioned process to accommodate a growing student population.
Boerne ISD Superintendent Thomas Price and Place 7 Trustee Rich Sena both gave spoke at the event before shoveling dirt alongside other board members and district officials.
The 38,000-square-foot addition is one of two high school expansion projects tied to the 2022 bond passed by voters last May. Officials broke ground on a 22,000-square-foot addon to Boerne High School last week.
Completion is projected by August 2024 at the start of a new academic year.
The project was awarded to Bandy Constructors after the bidding process began, and the company’s founder and president, David Bandy, was present for the first plowing.
These are just two of the many projects tied to the $132.64 million bond narrowly passed by the electorate last May.
52.1% of roughly 6,500 votes were cast in favor of the referendum.
“We are very grateful to the voters for supporting this bond,” Price said earlier. “The bond package was truly a grassroots effort led by the Long Range Steering Committee. We are greatly appreciative to the 80 community volunteers who served on the committee and worked hard to help pass this bond.”
Price and other officials have noted the expansions are intended to quell concerns about overcrowding at both high schools and temporarily meet the call for a third high school.
Price said new high schools on average cost well over $100 million.
In comparison, the additions will run taxpayers about $10 million for Boerne High and $15 million for Champion – the larger of the two high schools in town.
However, a third high school may not be too far down the line as a demographic study conducted by the school district estimates the student population will double by the 203132 school year to 20,654 students.
In the meantime, Boerne ISD officials are nailing down the best location for a potential new campus.
As of January, the school district had 10,800 pupils enrolled, and the demographic study predicts 6% to 7% compounded growth year over year.
Both Boerne Middle School North and Boerne Middle School South will also be expanded during the bond cycle, with $45.4 million in funding available for those efforts.
The school district also kicked off the year with construction on its eighth elementary school – another example of the Boerne ISD population boom.
“The first thing we do with our groundbreaking is we always make sure we thank the public because we could not do this without the support we have,” Price said.
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