Could really use some help picking where to live (Austin: houses, congested)

[Moonlady]

My stepson attended Westlake during his Junior and Senior years when he came to live with us. I have a great deal of respect for Westlake High and concur with the other favorable remarks. We happen to live in an area which probably has the lowest home values in Eanes - it's an older mixed neighborhood - and my stepson did not suffer any ill consequences of not being a rich kid or having a fancy car to drive. If anything, he benefited greatly from the academic excellence and opportunity to mingle with a different class of kids than he had in previously in Round Rock.

I agree with Steve - you're going to find negative things anywhere you go, but you need to look at the overall statistics. There's a reason Eanes is ranked as one of the best school districts in the area.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by hts

Does anyone know how I can research the total property tax assessment for a given community (ie. Lost Creek, Bartons Creek, Senna Hills, River Place, Steiner Ranch, etc.)? Is it on the web and easily accessible?

Kind of. You can look up a property within the given community, and you will see what the tax assesments are for homes in that area. You can look up rates and current valuation at:

Travis Central Appraisal District - Appraisal Roll Information

or see actual $$$ tax bills at:

Travis County Tax Office - Collecting property taxes, registering voters and motor vehicles.

LC is going to be annexed by the city, that is inevitable, although the community is fighting and trying to push it back as far as possible. The current tax rate is about 2.34% total. If annexed, the MUD tax will be replaced by the City tax and the rate will go up to about 2.57%.

Barton Creek is more like today's master planned communities, and the tax rate will be different... (I wouldn't know it without looking it up).. but you should be able to find it at the above sites.

[atlanta hope]

Originally Posted by hts

I'm sorry, I should have been clearer. What I meant to say was that it's my understanding that only Leander High within the LISD offers the AP/IB program (whereas they appear to have 3-4 other high schools that do not).

I believe that RRISD is a very good system as well, but is it generally regarded to be as well thought of as Eanes and LISD? I'm new and ignorant, so please don't misinterpret this question as an attack. It's just my understanding that Eanes and LISD are generally considered one and two (or neck-and-neck, depending on who you talk with), but if RRISD is up there with these two, then I guess I'll have to dig a little deeper!

I haven't researched Leander but for Westwood...

Round Rock Independent School District - Awards & Achievements

America's Best High Schools - Newsweek Magazine

The May 2007 of Newsweek announced its annual list of top high schools, and three Round Rock ISD high schools are included in the top five percent nationally with Westwood H.S. ranking in the top 100 schools with a ranking of 88, higher than its 2006 ranking of 104.

America's Best High Schools, U.S. News and World Report

In November 2007, U.S. News and World Report awarded Westwood HS a silver medal in its first ever ranking of America's Best High Schools.

[Moonlady]

Westwood High School is definitely the better of the high schools in the Round Rock School District, but interestingly enough, Westwood is closer to Austin than Round Rock. It actually has an Austin address. I have a friend who lives in that district and he said property values in his neighborhood are going up because of it.

[atlanta hope]

So would you say if you can't afford Westlake that Westwood would be a good second choice?

[Derek ATX]

Originally Posted by atlanta hope

So would you say if you can't afford Westlake that Westwood would be a good second choice?

Circle C. Leander. Possibly Lake Travis.

[braveheartwendy]

Well, I have spent the last few hours researching everyone's suggestions, and dangit if I didn't get back to where I was a month ago: Eanes, and certain schools in Round Rock and Lake Travis. I just spent $40 on the psk12.com site to access all the test scores of all the area HS/MS/ES (one stop shopping) and based on historical objective data, it appears, to me at least, that academically these were the best "feeding patterns":

Laurel Mountain ES to Canyan Vista MS to Westwood HS (RRISD)

Valley View/Forest Trail ES to WestRidge or Hill Country MS to Westlake HS (Eanes)

Lake Pointe ES to Lake Travis MS to Lake Travis HS (Lake Travis ISD).

I began with the zip code for Laurel Mountain ES 78759 and began to look for houses.

Guess I need to do the same for the other ES, but I am done for tonight. My eyes are crossing.

So much of what meets my house wants just isn't in a school zone that I am comfortable with. Dangit. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll see good houses tomorrow.

Thanks all.

[hts]

Eanes, RR, and Lake Travis, but no Leander?

[braveheartwendy]

hts, the top three feeding patterns came from looking at the top 3-4 ES, MS, and HS based upon their % passing scores (3rd and 5th I think, 7th and 8th, 9th and 10th), % taking AB/IB, % getting credit for AB/IB, % taking SAT and the resulting SAT scores. I took the top ES and tried to match them up to the top MS (so I had to throw out equally good Canyon Creek in RR as it didn't go to the top MS Canyon Vista), and also made sure that MS fed to the top 3 HS.

No Leander. Not saying Leander isn't good, and certain Leander schools in particular, and not saying there is not more subjective info. to consider, but I couldn't get their feeding patterns to beat these others when looking at the objective criteria (note: I'm not a statistician, but these were my findings).

To me, there was enough of a difference to rethink.

Back to the drawing board.

[atlanta hope]

Originally Posted by braveheartwendy

Laurel Mountain ES to Canyan Vista MS to Westwood HS (RRISD)

They didn't mention Spicewood or Anderson Mill Elementary?