District starts school rezoning process
HUTTO – With new schools on the horizon, Hutto Independent School District has begun looking at the process for rezoning school boundaries.
The rezoning will start with middle schools to account for the opening of Gus Almquist Middle School in August 2024, but Henry Gideon, assistant superintendent of operations, wants to begin the process for the two new elementary schools and the new high school as well.
“In the old days, you had to balance your schools based on ethnicity. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem because our community is so diverse across the board, but we do want to be sensitive to making sure we’re balancing the growth so all of our children are in equitable situations,” Gideon said.
Rezoning will rely on quarterly demographic reports and demographic projections to first update or create new middle school attendance zones, followed by attendance zones for elementary schools — with two new schools slated for construction — followed by the zoning for the second high school.
“The big one’s the high school dividing line, and the loyalties to Hutto High School and down the road the new high school,” Gideon said.
The district intends to have the zones for elementary and middle schools ready for public input before the end of 2023.
Public hearing for city budget On Thursday, Aug. 17, the city will hold the public hearing for the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. The proposed budget is $351,016,797 for all city funds. The budget has an expense increase of $210,162,392 over 2023’s adopted budget. It is based on the no new revenue tax rate of 0.402114 per $100 valuation, a reduction from the current rate of 0.421980.
The hearing will be during the regularly scheduled council meeting which starts at 7 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers, 500 W. Live Oak St.
City offers new utility payment option
Hutto utility bills can now be paid by text. It is a free service, though the city does add a 2% fee to all payments made by debit or credit card. City officials say it launched the new mobile-friendly platform to improve accessibility and cut down on paper waste. Customers can also manage their accounts through their phones.
To activate the service, follow the Pay Utilities link on the www. huttotx.gov website, select Utility Billing, then select Quick Pay. Customers will need their account number to sign up for the service.
