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LTISD proposes expanded full-day pre-K; district to use lottery for tuition seats
Summary
Dr. Lindsey Benton outlined a plan to expand full-day pre-K at multiple campuses to address a persistent wait list; the district will use a blended model (free eligible slots plus tuition seats at $6,500) and staff emphasized teacher certification and lottery allocation rules.
Dr. Lindsey Benton told trustees the district currently serves about 194 pre-kindergarten students across Serene Hills, Lake Travis and Lake Pointe elementary schools and presented a plan to expand full-day pre-K for the 2026-27 year.
Benton described the district's blended approach: free pre-K seats for students who meet Texas Education Code eligibility criteria (including students eligible for the National School Lunch Program, homeless students, students in foster care, English learners and others) alongside tuition-based full-day seats for families who do not qualify. She said tuition for the community program is $6,500 for the school year, paid in installments August through May, and emphasized districts cannot charge tuition that produces a profit.
To reduce the wait list (historically around 100-140 families, with about 120 in recent years), Benton proposed adding at least two classrooms at each of West Cypress Hills and Lakeway Elementary (four classrooms total as an initial target) and said the district's goal is to accommodate as many waiting families as space and policy allow. She explained the district uses a computer-aided lottery to allocate tuition seats so that free pre-K seats remain available for eligible students who might move into the district during the year.
Benton confirmed pre-K teachers in the district are Texas-certified and that the district adheres to state definitions of "high-quality Pre-K." Trustees asked about capacity at specific campuses, cross-campus enrollments, marketing plans and whether tuition seats could enroll students from outside district boundaries; Benton said marketing would start earlier, formal applications cannot open before April 1 (state limit), and campus space will drive final capacity decisions.
Board members praised the proposal as a way to expand access for families and to support staff retention for employees with young children. Administration will return with more operational details, including precise classroom counts, staffing plans and timelines.
