KILLEEN — Voters in Killeen sent a strong message to Killeen’s school district, voting to pass $426 million in bonds to build new schools and renovate others. KISD Spokesman Terry Abbott said the goal, among many others, is to construct a $171 million school STEM high school, specializing in Science, technology, engineering and mathematics in south Killeen. But what does that mean for parents living in the neighborhood where the new schools will be built?
“I think it will be great for the community, a lot of the schools are overcrowded, so I think it will be great," Akarra Jordan, whose children are nine-years-old and 14-years-old said.
Jordan's nine-year-old is homeschooled now but he’ll be heading into the Killeen school district and the new high school when it’s built.
“For my son, I’m excited it will be a new start for him because he is only gonna be in fifth grade next year," she said.
A few houses down, Devin Bailey is a father to children who are four-years-old and six-months-old. He was not aware of the new school that will be across the quiet street where he lives now. But he chose the neighborhood because it was peaceful.
“It’s quieter over here, it’s pretty much the end of the neighborhood at this point, less traffic, don’t have to worry about anything," he said.
Abbott said the school will fit about 2,500 students, which will make it the biggest high school in the district, aiming to eliminate the massive overcrowding at some of the current schools. KISD will be in the design phase in the coming year, working with teachers to build the curriculum and working with a pool of local architects to get a proposal and plan in place. Then, construction will last about two-and-a-half years.
“It’s gonna create a lot of chaos, especially on that street over there. There’s a possibility of things going wrong, trash and debris flying everywhere, who’s gonna be responsible for cleaning that up?” Bailey said when explaining the school district's plans.
The school is set to open in 2022. Once the school is built and rezoning complete, some students from Ellison, Shoemaker and Harker Heights High School will be attending that new school.
“That was critical because had we not passed the bond issue, Proposition A which was the cost of building the high school, 4 years from now, all of our high schools would be badly overcrowded," Abbott explained.
Abbott also said, four years from now without the passed bond measure, Harker Heights High School alone would have 700 students over the school's capacity.
The spokesman explained why the STEM focus is so important.
“It’s something that kids are really interested in and parents really want. We saw when we opened the STEM middle school, the ROY J Smith middle school, that it immediately filled up and people got on the waiting list," he said.
For more information about how the newly passed measure will impact Killeen homeowners, click here.