Elementary Attendance Rezoning Process

Building for Hutto ISD’s rapid growth requires a blueprint of its own. It requires both long and short-term planning and balanced responsible management of time, money and resources. Hutto ISD has developed a number of decision-making processes to deal with attendance zoning issues. The District also utilizes its own enrollment data, as well as an experienced outside demographer, to monitor growth in local neighborhoods, new and proposed construction and population trends.

In Hutto ISD, elementary schools are built to accommodate 800 students (CCES, HES, HNES, RES and VHES) with the exception of NJES (700 student capacity) and KES (850 student capacity). Both Farley and Hutto Middle Schools, as well as the new Gus Almquist Middle School, were designed to accommodate 1,200 students. The Hutto Ninth Grade Center’s capacity is 1,000 students and Hutto High School was built for a 2,400 student capacity.

Each campus has a building capacity and a functional capacity. Campuses are built for a capacity of a certain number of students, but each campus also potentially hosts several specialized programs including bilingual education, Pre-K and centralized special education classrooms. Campuses across the District have classrooms with less students in the room because of the specialized programming offered in those classrooms. The building capacity is lowered based on the number of specialized classrooms. It is important to know how many students a building actually functions with versus the total capacity of the building.

Each campus situation is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Hutto ISD voters have authorized recent School Bond measures to fund the construction of new facilities to alleviate overcrowding.

Some campuses have rapidly increasing enrollment, while adjacent schools have steady or slower growth in enrollment. Attendance zone adjustments distribute District resources in an equitable and fiscally responsible manner.

In 2019, the Hutto ISD community reaffirmed the importance of an opportunity-rich educational environment by approving a Bond proposal that added new facilities and renovated and/or expanded instructional areas at other campuses, making rezoning inevitable but allowing students the opportunity to shine academically, artistically and athletically. The community once again approved the most recent Bond 2023 proposals which further strengthened our District’s commitment to become the premier choice for public education in the Central Texas region.

Hutto ISD strives to provide schools of the size to offer a well-rounded program and opportunities, while maintaining room for growth and not leaving schools overcrowded or underutilized for an extended period of time.

Hutto ISD seeks to educate students in schools as close to their homes as possible. However, in order to effectively and efficiently utilize space, more than one school can become a consideration for a neighborhood/area based on its location. This is particularly the case in areas where Hutto ISD has schools in close proximity to one another. This means that during the boundary modification process, neighborhoods may be moved to existing schools or to campuses that are not the closest in proximity.

Although the District strives to keep neighborhoods intact as much as possible, many are just too large or too densely populated with students for this to be feasible. While Hutto ISD continues to consider future feeder patterns, the growth makes it increasingly difficult to have whole elementary schools feeding a particular middle school.

Hutto ISD knows that schools are an integral part of creating connections and maintaining a sense of community. Leaders are sensitive to this important dynamic and are committed to providing equitable experiences throughout our District, which allows for a smoother transition when change occurs. The curriculum is the same throughout the District, the programs are consistent, the schools are very similar so they will feel familiar, and when a new school opens, at least one third of the staff will be veteran Hutto ISD employees.

Each September, updated enrollment projections for each school are gathered and used to address the need to rezone existing campuses. When new campuses, such as Lee Martinez Elementary School, are opening the following year, that data is also used to draw preliminary attendance zones. This Fall, Hutto ISD empanelled the Attendance Rezoning and Boundary Leveling Committee to draft a recommendation for the Board of Trustees to review and consider.

Proposed attendance zones are typically presented and recommended to the School Board for review. Following the December 2024 Board meeting, those with questions or input regarding the draft attendance zones should email zones@huttoisd.net. All feedback will be compiled and communicated each week with the Board of Trustees, which will vote on attendance zones for the 2025-2026 school year in January 2025.

Opportunities will also be extended for comment from parents and community members during a series of public hearings. See the schedule on this website for details.

Additionally, an opportunity for public comment will be provided during School Board meetings.

Regular meetings of the Hutto ISD Board of Trustees begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room at the Hutto ISD Administration Building, 200 College Street in Hutto. Meeting agendas are posted on the District website no later than 72 hours prior to all meetings. Live streaming video of regular meetings is also available on the District’s website.