IOLA, Texas (KBTX) – The Iola ISD School Board has voted to approve four JETI agreements for the SpaceX Terafab project in Grimes County, paving the way for the project to move forward. All four phases of the project were voted on separately, and each was 5-2 in favor of the development.
The vote comes as Anderson-Shiro CISD holds a meeting to vote on a similar agreement for the neighboring school district.
SpaceX, in previous meetings, had stated that if they were unable to secure the agreements, they would likely have moved to a different site in a different state.
Iola ISD board members did not go into executive session prior to the vote, but did hear from community members for a second time before weighing in on the agreements themselves.
Residents reminded board members of their concerns about losing the small-town feel of Iola and about an increase in natural resource use, such as water from the facility, among many points against the project.
School board leaders highlighted the economic boost it could provide the district, noting that even with the enacted tax abatement, millions of additional dollars would continue to flow into the district each year.
The community of Iola has a population of just over 300, with the Terafab project bringing in roughly 5 times that number in new jobs.
With school board approval, the project now awaits Governor Abbott’s approval. SpaceX has said it would like to begin phase 1 of construction before the end of the year.
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