IN THE ZONE:
With growth comes change. The Boerne Independent School District continues its trajectory of robust growth into the future with projected attendance for fiscal 2019-2020 at 9,592 and an expected increase of approximately 2,400 students over the next five years.
As two new schools open in fall 2019 — part of the $175 million bond package passed in 2016 — Cordillera Ranch residents will be affected by necessary zoning changes that balance campus enrollments and ensure districtwide equity in funding and staffing.
Voss Middle School
Capt. Mark Tyler Voss Middle School is named for Kendall County native son, USAF officer, fallen warrior and local hero. A 2004 graduate of Boerne High School and 2008 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Voss held a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, was commissioned in the USAF as a 2nd Lieutenant and promoted to Captain in 2012. As part of the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, 27-year-old Voss was killed in the crash of a KC-135 aircraft he was piloting near Chon-Aryk, Kyrgystan, on May 3, 2013.
Voss Middle School will open on the corner of Highway 46 East and FM 3351, grades 6-7 only, with a projected enrollment of 430. All sixth and seventh grade students living in the Voss zone are required to attend its opening year; eighth graders will attend their current school. Voss will open grade 8 in the 2020-2021 school year with a projected enrollment of 674.
At press time, a secondary access from FM 3351 is in negotiation for both roadway and water line easement. Boerne ISD has secured a long-term water supply agreement for retail water from Guadalupe Blanco River Authority (GBRA). The district will pay for capital cost to extend a pipeline from Cordillera Ranch to the school tract. Water development includes reserving sufficient water capacity from western Canyon Lake resources for future needs, and fire protection and on-site storage (fire tank with fire pump) as required by building codes and the Kendall County Fire Marshall.
Herff Elementary School
Herff Elementary School is named for Dr. Ferdinand Ludwig von Herff (1820-1912), physician son of a prominent German family who, with his wife Mathilde, led the development of Boerne. Their original 960 acres have been incorporated into the Cibolo Nature Center and the Kendall County Fair Association.
Herff will be located in the planned community of Esperanza and has a projected enrollment of 452 students K-5 in fall 2019. Students affected by the rezoning for Herff will come from Cibolo Creek Elementary on the northern side of SH 46. Some students will be rezoned from Curington Elementary.
Students entering the fifth grade in 2019 at Herff will have the option of remaining at their current school. In that year only, younger siblings also will have the option of remaining at their current campus. However, the following year — once the fifth grader has promoted to sixth grade — all younger siblings, regardless of grade, must enroll at the school for which their family residence is zoned. District transportation will not be provided for those who opt for zone exemption.
High School Zoning
Cordillera Ranch residents will still have the ability to choose high schools, a provision that has been in place since the opening of Boerne ISD’s second high school in 2008 and extended through the 2018-2019 school year (the middle school choice option has expired). Under the provision, students living in the Boerne High School (BHS) attendance zone have the option of attending Champion High School (CHS). Students attending the high school outside their attendance zone are not eligible for bus transportation.
The following choice option rules apply:
• One-way choice only from BHS to CHS; all students living in the CHS attendance zone must attend CHS.
• Presently, high school attendance boundaries match boundaries for each middle school. Students living in the Boerne Middle School South attendance zone are also in the CHS zone. Those in the Boerne Middle School North attendance zone are also in the BHS zone. Once Voss opens, Cordillera Ranch residents will still fall in the BHS zone, while Voss students living south of SH 46 will be zoned for CHS.
• Students residing in the BHS attendance zone are allowed the choice option only when enrolling as incoming ninth graders or are new students to the district.
• A student zoned for BHS who is granted an intradistrict transfer to CHS will not be given intradistrict transfer consideration to return to BHS.
For more information, visit www.boerne-isd.net.
Renderings courtesy of Huckabee
Captain Voss Memorial
The community is invited to help fund an art installation memorial that pays homage to Air Force Captain Mark Tyler Voss at the Boerne Middle School named in his honor.
Renowned sculptor Jerry McKenna, a Boerne resident and retired Air Force officer, has been commissioned to create a replica of the Air Force pilot’s wings insignia with a six-foot wing span. This sculpted metal piece is part of a larger mixed media environment depicting a scene of Captain Voss’ plane, the open sky and the American flag. It will be installed in a high-traffic area near the main entrance to the gymnasium.
A Tyler Voss Memorial Fund, set up by the Hill Country Council for the Arts, is available at https://uk.gofundme.com/tyler-voss-memorial-fund, with many levels to donate. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Craig “Griz” Adams, project coordinator, at 210.912.6410 or email griz@gvtc.com. Donors will be recognized via a plaque near the memorial.
