Del Valle

[big joe p]

I live in Del Valle in Bastrop County. The subdivision has only site built homes, no modular or mobile allowed. Property Taxes, water, and electric are way cheaper than Travis. No lots smaller than 1 acre. Less than 30 minutes and I'm in South Austin any time of day. I like it out here.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by big joe p

I live in Del Valle in Bastrop County. The subdivision has only site built homes, no modular or mobile allowed. Property Taxes, water, and electric are way cheaper than Travis. No lots smaller than 1 acre. Less than 30 minutes and I'm in South Austin any time of day. I like it out here.

Growth is headed to Bastrop County, but it's going to skip Del Valle. The western edge of Bastrop County, just past Toll 130 will boom over the next decade, with some mid/high end master planned developments. Homes ranging from $200K-$500K.

But Del Valle itself (the ISD bounded areas) will suffer as long as the schools rank poorly. The headwind of poor schools is very difficult to overcome, with the exception being locations that are coveted such as central Austin.

Steve

[darla.latour]

I didn't realize they were "requiring" the kids to register for college. I spoke to my son and he confirmed that everyone who wasn't already registered was registered during school. My son is in many AP/dual credit classes, so he was registered before we moved here. I actually thought all the seniors had chosen to register because they intended to go... What a huge waste of time and energy, and yes, definitely a smoke screen. I feel naive for buying into that "statistic" (They also announced it at graduation, and received a ROAR of applause from the audience!)
That aside, I still think my son had a useful senior year there. Of course, home support (I'm a helicopter mom. I admit it.) and what you make of it have a lot to do with how much each person absorbs. As I did with my older children, I emphasize fun while learning with our 2.5 year old, and he is learning to read now. We had already discussed a private or charter school for him, and even home-schooling, so that he can continue at his own pace and be challenged, and I'll be scrutinizing the stats for the elementary school in the next year! We have kept UT Ele., Chapparel Star, Eden Park, and Nyos on the table for him. We'll have to see how he progresses. I understand why people look at school stats when looking for a home, but if that is the only "con" (and YES! I do believe it is a reflection on the parents and ergo your potential neighbors, so it is worth noting!), there are work-arounds, although they require more time and money.

[sxrckr]

Parenting is MUCH more important than the school system/district with how well your children do in life and how far they get. That being said, the schools DO affect property values.

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

Parenting is MUCH more important than the school system/district with how well your children do in life and how far they get. That being said, the schools DO affect property values.

As a retired educator, I agree.

[darla.latour]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

As a retired educator, I agree.

ScoPro- I have three close friends who got their degrees and intended to teach until they had to be wheeled out of the classrooms, old and gray. All three "retired" from teaching between 3 and 9 years into their careers, and went into private sector careers, where they are better-paid and not threatened with physical violence and beaten down constantly by parents who expect the teachers to raise their children (but NEVER discipline them!) and blamed them when their children did poorly. Their hearts were broken, and they felt like they had failed the children who were well-raised and wanted to learn. Sad situation, and we only have ourselves as parents to blame. So thank you for making a difference, as I'm quite sure that you did.

[ScoPro]

After 30 years I sure hope it did in a positive manner for some of the kids.