AISD bond could relieve crowded school

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin school board will decide Monday night  whether to put a huge bond proposal before voters in May. The bond package is the largest ever, totaling more than $883 million.

The largest chunk of money--$349.2 million--would go toward building repairs and improvements. $166 million is reserved for academic programs as well as fine arts and athletics, and $232.4 million would go toward building three new schools and expanding others to relieve overcrowding.

That portion of the bond package particularly attractive to schools like Doss Elementary in northwest Austin.  Doss, like many others is overcrowded and in need of more space.

"The amount of people that are in our school, with the space, it's just getting very, very crowded," said Doss Elementary School Principal Janna Griffin.

Right now the school is using 10 portables on campus, totaling 20 classrooms. Griffin says more and more students are calling those portables their classroom rather than rooms in the school building itself. The over-crowding, though, isn't a trend district wide

"[The district's] enrollment numbers are actually slightly down, but in our area, it's just gone up and up and up," said Griffin.

Enrollment is increasing so much so that Doss Elementary is about two times beyond the school's intended capacity. The building is fit for about 400 students. Right now, they're at 820. Also, pick-up and drop-off at Doss is another time when space is crowded. Streets in the area become congested. The potential for bond money to relieve overcrowding is music to Griffin's ears.

"We actually are up for a classroom addition of eight classrooms, and that would be tremendous," Griffin said.

According to projections from AISD Doss Elementary School is expected to grow to more than 150 percent beyond capacity in the next four years.