LISD talks repurposing and consolidating three elementaries in Steiner 

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

More than 100 people attended a community meeting at Steiner Ranch Elementary last week where a dozen voiced their concerns regarding the proposed plans to consolidate SRE with Laura W. Bush and River Ridge elementaries and repurpose the SRE campus, or reduce staff at all three local elementaries to accommodate the low-enrollment in all three.

The meeting on June 11 was hosted by the PTAs of all three Steiner Ranch elementaries: SRE, LWBE and RRE with SRE taking the lead.

Rachel Lilla, SRE PTA vice president of communications, presented a presentation on Leander ISD’s proposed plans for the 2026-2027 school year. (LISD details below) 

“We believe that this (LISD’s proposals) could further damage the trust between the community and the district, if not erode it completely,” Lilla shared. “During the 2023 bond discussions – where repurposing of three LISD elementary schools was added – Dr. Bruce Gearing stated that ‘repurposing’ could mean using part of a school with relatively low enrollment for a different purpose, instead of closing the school all together.” 

“Three years and countless hours of work by committees later, the administration has presented three paths forward, two of which close several schools in the district, including Steiner Ranch Elementary, with the same purposes that were originally cited in 2023,” Lilla said. “The administration and board have both stated that the middle schools will be discussed regarding under utilization proceeding the decision of the elementary campuses, which is very concerning for the entire Four Points community.”

Several residents at the meeting spoke about their worries that the two Four Points middle schools will be dealt with in the next round of consolidations and repurposing. 

Kaycee Parker, SRE PTA president, has been advocating for Steiner Ranch Elementary for several years now.

“It feels like we have been fighting this for 2.5 years when they first suggested consolidating. They made promises to not close neighborhood schools after we spoke out but that now feels like it was just said so we would vote for the bond,” Parker said. 

That idea was not lost at the community meeting. Several spoke in favor of voting against the next LISD bond. Some commented that the southern part of the district pays a large portion of the overall tax that LISD gets each year and the south can leverage that. One idea voiced was to have residents pledge that they’ll withhold support for future bond elections if any facilities in the Vandegrift feeder pattern are closed. 

Parker believes the district’s plans are not what’s best for the Steiner community. 

“The district is very large and does not have all the same needs. What works in one area is not beneficial in another… Pushing for equity,” Parker said. “All of the other proposed elementary schools get to move together to a different campus or… get reduced staffing with other options. We are asking for the same… to have options and especially to not be torn in half.”

Safety and traffic issues involving the LISD proposals were other concerns brought up by parents.   

Recommendations

Lilla unfolded several recommendations to address the situation at the June 11 meeting including: 1) Keep students at all three Steiner elementaries and add paid pre-K and paid after-school programming. 2) Rezoning into two elementary schools and repurpose the third elementary as a STEM school for the community with open enrollment and transfers. 3) Keep a small school model with shared staff.

The Steiner schools are highly rated and a draw for the area, several SRE PTA parents shared.

Tuition-based pre-K idea

One idea being considered by LISD is to offer tuition-based pre-K at the SRE campus.

A tuition-based pre-K to each of the three elementary campuses in Steiner could be beneficial versus one larger hub at SRE that may not be filled, Parker said. She does not believe enrollment would be significant enough at SRE alone to boost enrollment.

Another point is that a new pre-K hub would take business from other pre-Ks already established in the Four Points area.  

“We have great pre-K options already in this part of the district. While the north has a need for those facilities, the south does not,” Parker said.

After-school enrichment idea 

Lilla shared at the meeting that using space within Steiner Elementary for opportunities like after-school enrichment can provide income opportunities to teachers and local businesses. 

This idea could also test the tuition-based pre-k in a wing of all three Steiner Ranch elementaries. 

“It would be a possible compromise that allows students to stay at their home campuses while testing the waters of new ideas,” Lilla said.

Through research, Lilla and others have found that SRE is operating below the state given financial allotment per student. 

“With that being said, it does not appear to be a point of concern financially for the district at this time and allows the district to take its time while trying to be creative and innovative in our community,” Lilla said.

Town halls

Leander ISD stated that town halls will be hosted once the 2025-2026 school year begins and provide their next update at the August meeting board meeting. Then a decision will be made during the month of September. 

But outspoken Steiner parents want more time and earlier town halls.

“Urge the board to hold town halls now,” said Parker, who shared that hosting town halls in the middle of August does not give this important subject enough time. “With a decision being made the first week of September that leaves only a couple weeks to engage the community on a severely impactful decision. The district says they want community input and to work with us. We do too! Give us the opportunity to continue to organize, and start implementing contingency plans.” 

Lilla agrees. “That is a very small window for the administration to hear, process and incorporate any community ideas and feedback. It is disingenuous to say that they value community feedback and input when there is no time to utilize that information. We would like to see the administration hosting multiple meetings throughout the summer.” 

Next steps

Parker and Lilla urged those who came to the meeting to get the word out about what LISD is considering for SRE. 

“The next steps are for citizens to get involved. Go to board meetings and speak out, email your board as a group and individually to follow up, email your area superintendent and superintendent to find out how they think this will affect your schools and communities, tell your friends and neighbors so that more people are involved,” Lilla said. “The schools closing is something that the entire Four Points area will feel the effects of.”  

Parker plans to work with other local residents advocating for the future of SRE and “to continue gathering data that proves their ideas and plans are not what’s best for our community.”

“It was mentioned in a board meeting that maybe we should be our own district,” Parker said. “We are looking into that. If the district doesn’t want to listen then we may need to forge our own path.”

Photos by Lynette Haaland