Leander ISD Continue Work In Building Access Road At Vandegrift High School

LEANDER, TX — Leander ISD officials are continuing to work through the permitting process to build an access road at Vandegrift High School, officials said.

The most recent meeting on Sept. 13 was with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) officials toward working on a Habitat Conservation Plan application, officials said on the school district website. Leander ISD officials seek an Endangered Species Act permit to build the access road for use by 3,700 students and staff attending and working at Four Points Middle School and Vandegrift High School.

The propose route will run through a small portion on the edge of the Balcones Canyonland Preserve, district officials explained, thus necessitating the talks with environmental officials.

So far, environmental studies show the road project's impact on protected species, their habitats, and the environment overall will be minimal, district officials said. This is because the district plans to construct the road in a designated infrastructure corridor, which already contains three, high-voltage electric transmission lines owned by Austin Energy and LCRA, as well as buried city of Austin water lines, officials said.

When LISD purchased the property in 2006, it selected the site because of limited availability, access for student populations in the southern part of the district to relieve Cedar Park High School, and proximity to a 420-foot wide infrastructure corridor, which includes electric transmission lines, according to officials. The district needs about 30 feet of that corridor to construct the access road, officials added.

In addition to working with the FWS, the Leander ISD Board of Trustees took action on Aug. 17 to include design and mitigation costs for the access road in its Nov. 7 bond election. The $454.4 million bond proposition includes funding for design, construction, and furnishing at four new schools, an expansions at Leander MS and Vandegrift HS, renovations to and additions of Career and Technical Education (CTE) classrooms for high schools, and building and safety improvements at various LISD schools. The access road project totals $3 million on the bond proposal, according to the district.

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