The Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees adopted a resolution approving a contract for the purchase of real property (64.5 acres) from WFC Headwaters Owner VII, LP near the western border of the Headwaters neighborhood. This agenda item was approved at a special meeting August 19. Pending a due diligence period, the district hopes to close on the property prior to the deadline of December 2020.

The site is large enough to accommodate an elementary school and a middle school. Decisions on specific facilities and timing of future buildings will be made as part of the district’s long-range facility planning process.

The cost of the parcel of land is $1.715 million, to be paid from 2018 bond funds. The bond package included $9 million for land acquisition; district officials states a preferred area was north of Highway 290, between RR12 and Sawyer Ranch Road. The school district and the Headwaters owner have agreed to share the cost for utility improvements and infrastructure associated with the property.

Currently Dripping Springs ISD consists of a high school, two middle schools, and four elementary schools. The district’s fifth elementary school is planned to be built on property on Darden Hill Road, to the southeast of the Sawyer Ranch Road intersection. District enrollment has been growing approximately 6 percent annually, with 2019-20 enrollment surpassing 7,150 students.