Bond Brief #2
AMARILLO ISD STUDENT NUMBERS UP BY 3,000 IN LAST FIVE YEARS
School Bond 2013, which will
go before voters on May 11,
would add classrooms to
seven AISD schools to
accommodate a districtwide
increase in enrollment.
April 18, 2013
Since Amarillo ISD’s last bond election 10 years ago, student enrollment has grown by 13.5 percent. In fact, just
in the last five years, AISD has grown by more than 3,000 students. That’s enough to fill six average-sized
elementary schools, or a large high school plus a large middle school. This year, enrollment reached a near alltime high of 33,332 students.
Most AISD schools are at capacity in terms of space, and many are using makeshift classrooms, travelling
teachers, and portable buildings to address overcrowding. Currently, about 160 classrooms in the district are
housed in portables.
A Facilities Advisory Committee composed of parents and citizens from across the district spent three months
studying enrollment trends, demographic information, and facility needs. In January, the committee gave their
report and recommended the School Board call for a bond election. The Board has called for a $99.45 million
bond election for May 11. About 57 percent of this amount, or $56.6 million, would be spent to accommodate
a growing student population.
As part of the School Bond 2013 proposal, seven schools would receive classroom additions to accommodate
growth:
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Coronado Elementary – 6 classrooms
Hamlet Elementary – 7 classrooms
Mesa Verde Elementary – 6 classrooms
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Rogers Elementary – 8 classrooms
Crockett Middle School – 6 classrooms
Houston Middle School – 8 classrooms
Tascosa High School – 8 classrooms
In addition to new classrooms, the bond proposal calls for separate sixth grade campuses to be added to Bowie
and Travis middle schools, AISD’s two largest middle schools. The sixth grade campuses would be patterned
after the Johnny Allen 6th Grade Campus, (Mann Middle School’s 6th grade campus) and would help meet the
unique needs associated with these large middle schools.
Finally, the bond calls for a new elementary school in the Caprock cluster to accommodate students who will be
coming from a new housing development, scheduled to begin construction soon. Tradewind Elementary, the
current designated school for the development, is already over capacity with 620 students. The Facilities
Committee projected that a new elementary school will be needed in this development within three to five
years.
For more about School Bond 2013 visit AISD’s website at www.amaisd.org/bond.