WIMBERLEY — In the last 24 years, Wimberley ISD’s student enrollment has grown by 68%. To accommodate that growth within the school district, WISD voters will see a bond package on the May 2025 election ballot that totals $135 million.
At its Feb. 10 meeting, the WISD Board of Trustees unanimously voted to call for the school bond election to go on the May 3 ballot. This is the first bond election that WISD has had since voters approved the 2018 bond that funded the construction of Blue Hole Primary School and other improvements within the school district.
The board of trustees called for the 2025 bond based on the recommendation of the Facility Needs Task Force — comprised of WISD parents, community members and staff — which started meeting in September 2024 to analyze WISD facility needs information, prioritize identified needs, consider the potential fiscal impacts to addressing identified facility needs and create recommendations for WISD board consideration. The group was charged with prioritizing more than $200 million of facility projects identified by a Facility Condition Assessment that took place in the summer of 2024.
“After reviewing all the data and documentation and making site visits, the community group made the recommendation to our board … to consider making these improvements,” said WISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Bonewald.
After four months of meetings, the Facility Needs Task Force arrived at a recommendation for a bond election to address $135 million of capital improvements and additions impacting WISD’s campuses and other district facilities.
“Our schools are more than just buildings; they are where dreams take root, where students feel safe to learn, grow and prepare for a bright future. After 20+ hours of extensive analysis, facility tours, and diverse and open discussions, it is clear that we must take action to ensure our facilities reflect the excellence we expect for our children,” the task force said in its recommendation to the board. “From upgrading technology to modernize classrooms, to enhancing safety and security for students and staff, to expanding spaces that can accommodate our growing community, these improvements are critical to supporting the success of our students and staff today and for generations to come.”
A member of the task force and local real estate agent, Shelli Beck, has been living in Wimberley for more than 20 years. She has three kids: a sophomore in college who went all the way through the WISD school system; a senior in high school; and a first grader.
“We have no intention of moving from our community. I have the two big kids — one’s done and one’s almost done with school — but then, we still have a first grader that’s going to be up and coming and we have no plans of leaving the district, even when she leaves,” Beck said. “So, it’s just important for our district to stay strong and competitive with our neighboring communities and also be able to provide what’s best for all the students.”
Another member, Kimberly Hopkins, relocated to Wimberley last spring after residing in north Texas for nearly 19 years. Her husband has been an educator for 21 years and is currently teaching physics at Wimberley High School; they have three school-aged kids at Jacob’s Well Elementary, Danforth Junior High and Wimberley High School.
“It has always been important to me to get involved in my kids’ schools and understand their environments. I have spent the last 10 years serving in volunteer/leadership capacities, including [Parent-teacher association] president and on our last school district’s PTA Council, which oversees the affiliation of 78 PTAs. When I saw the call for community members in the Back to School – Wimberley ISD newsletter, I asked about it and expressed an interest to get involved if there was an opportunity,” Hopkins shared. “When I raised my hand, I didn’t realize the timeline or the end goal, but it was one of the most rewarding projects I have ever participated in. I have honestly never seen a group of people with so much passion, with such a large task at hand, come together like the Facility Needs Task Force and the common thread that weaves through us all is a love of Wimberley, whether it’s been home for decades or a year.”
One of the first meetings of the task force was spent discussing consensus and what that would mean to the group. It was decided that vetted projects needed 75% support to move forward, Hopkins explained. The group then got to work reviewing the detailed facility condition assessments for each campus and toured the schools to gain a visual understanding of current limitations or maintenance items. Throughout the fall, they heard from both external and internal subject matter experts on topics, such as auditorium capacities, school district bond ratings, surrounding school district trends and tax rate implications.
“Something that impressed me from very early on was the open and safe environment for ideas, questions and challenging of district needs,” Hopkins said. “With a diverse group of community members with unique experiences and perspectives, there was a lot of really healthy discussion. When all of the potential projects were understood and on the table, we started using polls to weed out projects. There were over 375 projects considered and approximately 130 that moved forward and ended up on the recommendation to the board of trustees.”
There were about 20-30 different people from various professions and families in the Wimberley area who served on the task force, Beck explained, making it a very diverse group to look at the potential for a bond.
“There were teachers in there. There were community members, as well as business owners and parents and grandparents … Dr. Bonewald and the task force previous to us, did a great job of putting just everything you could possibly think of out there for us as the task force to look at and see what got pushed on to the next level. And so, what we were able to present to the board that ultimately ended up passing to put forth for the bond was everything that this task force felt was important for our community as a whole,” Beck said. “So, they weren’t things that we took lightly and they weren’t things that just a few people thought were a good idea. It was voted on by the entire task force that all these things were that important.”
Voters will consider the following four propositions, separated in accordance with state law. All projects’ scope and cost are estimates and based on conceptual designs.
Prop A ($109.99 million)
Prop A is the largest section in the total $135 million bond, with enrollment growth, slated at $72.1 million, being the first subsection, which includes the following projects:
Multipurpose academic auditorium and choir and theater classrooms
Band hall expansions at Wimberley High School (WHS) and Danforth Junior High School (DJH)
Gym entry expansions at WHS and DJH
Weight rooms: Expansion at WHS and addition at DJH
Increased parking at Blue Hole Primary School and baseball/softball complex
Softball/baseball locker rooms, restrooms and storage
Expansion of bus fleet
Land purchase for future district enrollment growth
The other projects in Prop A include:
Aging infrastructure ($24.27 million)
HVAC/mechanical/plumbing updates at WHS, DJH, Jacob’s Well Elementary (JWE) and Scudder Primary School
Exterior repairs and updates (roofing, windows and foundation) at WHS and DJH
Girls locker room repairs and renovations at WHS and DJH
Repairs and improvements at Texan Gym, Bridges Gym (WHS) and both DJH gyms
Restroom repairs and improvements at WHS and DJH
Baseball/softball complex lighting replacement
Technology infrastructure ($7.17 million)
Replace and add wireless access points
Replace server infrastructure
Replace and upgrade existing Network Firewall with Next Generation Firewall
Replace and upgrade existing wired switches
Replace district copiers
Replace and standardize intercom systems across district
Safety and security ($6.45 million)
WHS, DJH and JWE fire alarm/fire protection equipment upgrades
WHS and DJH security fencing
Addition and replacement of safety cameras (buses and campus locations)
Rekeying campus door locks
Panic alert system safety/security devices for campus staff
Prop B, slated at $6.05 million, will be to update student and staff devices, along with support equipment.
Prop C, at $5.73 million, is designed for improvements at Texan Stadium. The purpose of this proposition is to: increase the capacity to 4,000; replace portions of existing seating; replace the turf, track and lighting; expand the concession; and improve drainage.
Lastly, the final proposition, Prop D, proposed at $13.23 million, is for a shaded multipurpose activity center, which is to provide shade and cover from weather elements over a 70-yard turf field. This will be used for DJH and WHS extracurricular programs, along with providing equipment storage.
According to the district, WISD’s student enrollment has grown by 68% within the last 24 years. In the year 2000, the student population was 1,601 and, in 2024, that number jumped to 2,691. Therefore, the bond will be “addressing some aging infrastructure and some aspects of our campuses where we’ve outgrown based on enrollment,” said Bonewald.
The task force found that right now is an important time to hold a bond election for WISD because it’s going to take a few years for the projects to be in full completion, Beck explained.
“The bond will just start the process of plans and all the things that have to go into actually building structures. If we waited any longer, that would put us even further behind the curve than where we feel like we kind of almost already are right now with some of our failing buildings and we’ve outgrown our space and the age,” she said. “Since the last time we did the bond, there’s so many needs that we have that if we waited any longer, we’re just going to be severely, I think, out of touch and out of time.”
The bond is beneficial, as it has essential improvements at each campus that benefits students, families and staff members, according to Hopkins.
“The propositions that people will vote on in May are extremely essential, interconnected and leverage opportunities to greatly improve our facilities, upgrade technology, enhance safety and security for students and staff and expand spaces that can accommodate our growing community,” Hopkins explained. “Parents are familiar with the early dismissal that happened in January with three of the campuses, due to a system failure — this cannot reoccur. It’s disruptive on so many levels and we rely on the buildings that hold our loved ones to operate the way they need to. Wimberley ISD is known for its robust performing and fine arts and athletic programs, but they are all busting at the seams due to facility limitations. The bond will invest in these programs and ensure that students who want to participate have the best experiences possible.”
If all four propositions are passed, it is estimated that there would be a three-cent tax rate increase for WISD taxpayers, according to Bonewald.
While there is an estimated tax rate increase, Beck assured that it will still be less as far as those of neighboring school districts.
“I would urge anyone that … if they think any of these are frivolous or not necessary improvements, I would basically offer all of them the chance to be able to walk through these facilities and see firsthand what we’re talking about before making a rash decision and also compare our tax rates with other surrounding districts,” she said.
Any registered voter who resides within the WISD attendance boundary is eligible to vote in the bond election. The deadline to register to vote is Thursday, April 3. The first day of early voting is Tuesday, April 22 and Election Day is Saturday, May 3.
More information about the proposed bond package, including a full list of projects, can be found at www.wimberleyisd.net/bond2025.
