As Boerne sheds more of its small-town identity amid rapid Hill Country growth, one of Texas’ top-rated school district is expanding again — this time with the purchase of 31 acres off North Main Street that could eventually house a new middle school and career training hub.
Boerne ISD announced in a Wednesday, May 6, news release that the purchase was finalized on May 5. The announcement shared that the purchase marks a major milestone in the district’s goal to increase the size of its land portfolio, expand educational opportunities and meet the needs of the community.
However, some residents in the sometimes development-averse small town have previously objected to the district’s growing land ownership interests, with some questioning the district’s funding sources. Supporters, on the other hand, have defended the school’s expansion, celebrating the district’s future readiness efforts and calling for a new high school campus amid growing enrollment numbers.
Though Boerne ISD Superintendent Kristin Craft said in the news release that the latest registration figures have stabilized, like many other Hill Country towns, the city seems to be anticipating a major population boom, as new developments, apartments, and shopping centers creep steadily up Interstate 10 and challenge Boerne’s long-held identity as a charming, small town. Craft said a slowing growth rate over the last 18 months has allowed leaders to focus on future planning. Currently, the district is home to 11,180 students.
“The current Boerne Middle School North campus sits on 10-landlocked acres, while an ideal middle school site is 30-40 acres. This newly purchased 31-acre tract of land is a strategic location for the future of the district,” the superintendent said in the release.
Last May, the district announced the purchase of an additional 70 acres of land near the intersection of I-10 and Old Fredericksburg Road in southern Kendall County.
Boerne ISD is one of only 31 Texas school districts ever to earn six straight “A-ratings” from the Texas Education Agency.
Recently, a moveBuddah.com study reported that Boerne is one of the most sought-after suburbs in the United States.
Though the school district did not say the cost of the 31 new acres, the release does say that after putting together a community-led strategic planning committee, there is an evident need for a hub for career technical education, or CTE. The district’s goal is to maximize its existing facilities to delay the need for a third high school.
“This is a landmark day for Boerne ISD. While we hope to follow through with the construction of a new middle school and a refreshed CTE hub, we need to make sure it’s what our taxpayers want, too. We will be patient and prudent. We purchased the land Van Raub Elementary School resides on in 2004 and that campus wasn’t opened until 2018,” Boerne ISD Board President Kristi Schmidt said via release.