'A huge change': Del Valle ISD breaks ground on second high school to accommodate growth

The white event tent in the middle of the field looked out of place, surrounded by trees and mounds of dirt. The lot off Taylor Lane, 5 miles south of Manor, was big and empty, but in three years it will house a new Del Valle district high school.

Del Valle school officials and construction company leaders stood under the tent Friday for the ceremonial groundbreaking for the district's second high school, which is meant to accommodate the thousands of students expected in the next 10 years.

Taylor Lane is a two-lane, tree-lined street with few buildings along it, but within 10 years it'll be a gateway into the proposed 7,500-home Whisper Valley community, and Del Valle officials are racing to plan for the growth.

“We want to make sure our students know we are building this with their future in mind,” Superintendent Annette Tielle said at the groundbreaking.

The yet-to-be-named high school will be funded through a $300 million bond voters approved in 2022, which also included money to purchase additional land.

Scheduled to open in August 2026, the high school will have a 2,400-student capacity, Tielle said.

Although the area where the school will be built is highly undeveloped, this region south of Manor and east of Texas 130 is on the cusp of growth.

In 2020, Tesla announced it was building Giga Texas, a completed facility along the Texas 130 tollway, at 1 Tesla Road. And in 2021, the company announced it was moving its headquarters to Austin.

Developers of the $2 billion energy-saving housing subdivision Whisper Valley also plan to fill out the area.

The development promises 7,500 homes and a 600-acre park at completion. About 400 homes are already on the ground, and the project could take 15 years to complete, according to developer Taurus Investment Holdings.

The district bought land for the school from Taurus, according to district officials.

“Our residents ask us about the schools,” said Douglas Gilliland, the development's managing director.

The district had 10,853 students in 2021, but it is expected to grow to 17,208 students — a 59% increase — by 2030, according to Texas Education Agency and district data.

By the time the new high school opens, the original Del Valle High School will be close to having 4,000 students, school board Vice President Ann Heuberger said.

That’s too big for students to have ample opportunities to participate in leadership roles or clubs, she said.

“It’s time — past time — for a second high school,” Heuberger said.

Adding a second high school will be a big culture change for the district, she said.

“It’s a huge change,” Heuberger said. “It’s something districts have to work through.”

Other school districts in the area, like Lake Travis, are getting ready to add or recently added a second high school as Austin's suburbs swell with the spillover from the city’s rapid growth.

The Del Valle district also plans to build a new middle school and elementary school in the Whisper Valley area, according to the district.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Growth in Austin: Del Valle ISD breaks ground on second high school