Aubrey ISD bought 71 acres of land recently, the next step to expanding the district’s campuses, which voters approved in 2022.
The district bought acreage along FM2931, a parcel that is north of the Aspen Meadows housing development near Silverado and Providence Village neighborhoods.
Superintendent David Belding said the district found brisk competition for land, and that district leadership worked hard to find the best property they could for the needs of future students.
The land leaders just bought will be the home of the district’s new middle school — the second in the district.
“It was difficult to find a plot of land that would meet our needs for the new middle school, as well as a possible site there for the elementary,” Belding said. “Being a growing area, large tracts of land are in high demand. There are a lot of developers or investors that have or are buying large tracts of land. So to have those available to the school district is certainly a challenge.”
District voters approved an ambitious bond package last May that aims to keep Aubrey ISD, which is a member of the Fast Growth School Coalition, ahead of the explosive population boom along U.S. Highway 380.
The bond includes a new middle school, three elementary schools, improvements to existing buildings and new facilities. This purchase and the planned campuses are part of the $354 million voters approved for a full slate of projects.
Aubrey ISD has grown by 15%, enrolling 500 students in the last school year.
Belding said the middle school would be a large one, which would reach capacity at 1,000 students.
“I would say that, as a school district, we are truly blessed to be in the community,” he said. “Whether it’s the city of Aubrey, Krugerville, Cross Roads and Providence Village — the portions that are in the county — I think that our stakeholders here really value the education of our children and want to provide them the best facilities that we can in order to provide that world-class education.
“I think that’s a definite foundation. In Aubrey, I see that our community sees that, and are very supportive of that. So, overall, yes, I think there is really good support for education and in the concept of community schools and in all of us working together to serve our kids. And the kids that are going to be here in the future.”
The district is working with Huckabee Architects, with the fourth elementary school and the second middle school already in the design process. The district and the architecture firm have also already begun design work on additions and renovations to Aubrey High School.
Belding said districts typically like to locate new middle schools on 30- to 40-acre plots.
“That’s because of the athletic field, tennis courts and those features,” he said. “Part of what we also really want are and are focused on in Aubrey is planning for traffic flow.”
When it comes to building schools, districts prefer to avoid having hundreds of cars backed up onto main thoroughfares, bigger roads and neighborhood roads. When a district is able to buy bigger plots, there is more space to accommodate for busy daily drop-off and pickup.
Belding said the acreage is big enough to build two campuses with enough separation between them to serve students and the traffic that accompanies schools.
“We feel very confident we can get an elementary school on there and the middle school on there with some good space between them, to keep them separated,” he said. “That really gave us a great value for our taxpayers because we don’t have to go buy another elementary site down the road.”
Belding said the district plans to start construction on the new elementary school in the fall, and hopes to open the school in August 2025.
Additionally, the district is in talks with D.R. Horton Builders to get an additional 13 acres in Silverado West for its fourth elementary school.
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