Belton ISD is kicking off a six-month process to determine new attendance boundaries as construction on the district’s 12th elementary school gets underway this week.

At its regular meeting on Monday, the Board of Trustees heard about the process that will include multiple rounds of input and feedback from community members and the district’s long-range facilities planning team. Trustees will also have opportunities to weigh in before administrators bring a recommendation to the board in February.

New boundaries would not take effect until August 2023 at the earliest, said Michael Morgan, assistant superintendent of operations.

Considering new attendance boundaries is needed as the district moves forward with the construction of elementary schools #12 and #13 and the new addition at Southwest Elementary — all funded by the 2022 bond voters passed in May, Morgan said. These projects address growth in the north and south sectors of the almost 200 square miles of Belton ISD where ongoing enrollment growth is making the biggest impact.

"It is critical to have data-driven discussions that inform recommendations to the Board, that are also reflective of the stakeholder feedback received throughout the process," Morgan said. "Ideally, our obligation throughout the process will be to take care of families moving forward and maximize the use of district facilities and resources." 

Trustees also heard an update on the process to name the new elementary schools. Name suggestions are being accepted through Oct. 15 at www.bisd.net/name. 

"We encourage community members to bring forward thoughtful nominations that could ultimately be considered by the Board,” Morgan said. “Trustees will make the final decision based on recommendations from the committee that will narrow the pool to two or three options for each school.” 

In other news, the Board approved the hiring of CORE Construction for construction at-risk services for three projects funded by the May 2022 bond: additions and renovations at Belton High School, the Fine Arts expansion at Lake Belton Middle School and an addition at Southwest Elementary.