Killeen ISD has released the first artist rendering of what will become the district's newest high school. It is expected to open in 2022 and should have room fro 2,500 students. The district says it will be built on Chaparral Road and help will help eliminate overcrowding at existing high schools.
In May, voters agreed Killeen ISD should spend $426 million on two separate propositions to improve schools.
The vote marked Killeen's first school construction bond election in 16 years -- a period during which, for context, the district has added nearly 14,000 students.
Superintendent John Craft had recommended the bond be put on the ballot as two distinct propositions, both of which passed. Proposition A was a $235 million plan to build a new high school, a new elementary school and improve school safety, as well as to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. Proposition B was a $191 million plan for new schools and renovations at the 11 Killeen ISD campuses that are more than 50 years old.
Next year's enrollment at Killeen ISD is expected to be nearly 45,000 students, making it the 26th largest school district in Texas. Three of the district's four traditional high schools have already exceeded their capacity, forcing KISD to have 290 classrooms in trailers because the permanent buildings cannot handle that many students. The passage of the bond will change that.
Under the bond, the property taxes for the average home in Killeen valued at $143,236 will increase by $14.82 a month, according to the district.
"With the tax increase, Killeen ISD's tax rate would still be far lower than that of almost every other school district in the central Texas area and lower than that of similar sized school districts around the state," Killeen ISD Spokesperson Terry Abbott wrote in an email.
Property owners age 65 and older will see no tax rate increase because their rates are frozen at current levels.
