Hutto (Austin, Round Rock, Georgetown: get credit, houses, landscaping)

[HappyTexan]

love roses - yes I see it happening all around me

I'm currently looking for some land in Milam county so I can move back "out to the country" though. As the city inches closer to me..I just sit and watch my property value rise. Between the LRCA and their power lines and the TTC
, I don't think it's safe to move anywhere west of Thorndale now and live the country life.

[love roses]

I have a feeling my husband and I will be doing something similar. My grandma lives South of Tyler out towards Mineola, and it used to be totally isolated out there. Hers was one of about 4 houses on her little FM road and that used to be sand. Fast Forward to 2007, town is an awful lot closer, her road is paved and has been extended to the nearest highway (it used to dead end), there are probably around 100 houses out there now, and the farmer who owned acreage behind her property passed away and his descendents sold it to a tree farm operation out of California. I guess there could be worse neighbors, especially since the farm doesn't use that much of the 100's of acres it bought. It also used to be that you were doomed if you forgot something at the store, or wanted something you didn't have in the middle of the night. Now, you just drive about 5 minutes and there's an all night convenience store in the next town over (tiny towns are pretty close together out there). Thankfully, noone's thought to put streetlights out there yet, so you can see MANY stars

[jcsoruen]

The issue is not unfair and there was no intent to report on "about any school." I focus only on Hutto because that is the school I know and I know others in other parts of the country The childen didn't pick the school district. Their parents did, and they made their choice when the school was smaller. The children have a certain number of years, it the school is what it is now. THis does not say that RR or other schools are better or worse, but it does reflect our personal experience with Hutto. Do you have a specific reference to the Hutto schools scores and rating? Current or within a year or two. THen it would be interesting to know the specific reasons that the school gives for withdrawal of a student. There are ways of gaming the system.

If a person chooses to live in Hutto and send their children to the senior high, then be prepared to be active. Be aware that many of the Mexican parents can't advocate for their children. Make sure that you understand what is required for ESL - not simply a course.

[jcsoruen]

One needs to inform chldren/teen agers about the dangers of the area. Those in the area do know about the rapid rises of water. Simply see the depth of Brushy creek when the water leve is low, and then note how many feet it rises very quickly.

[love roses]

So Everyone who wants to move to Hutto...Stay far away! It's the worst town in Central Texas with backwards, illiterate rednecks driving souped up Ford F150's and Escalades. Noone is educated, the schools are the worst in the nation, Every home is cookie cutter or a run down shack, it's flat as a pancake with one stoplight and mean cops who like to stop people who are trying to drive 100 miles an hour through it just to avoid the bad stigma sticking to their car while they're passing through. Anyone want to know any more negatives about Hutto, the worst town in Central Texas? Sorry to vent this way, but one can only take so much about how God awful a place this is, when in reality it's not.

[love roses]

Anyway, yes the local paper usually posts the stats, and it's still rated acceptable as of last year. The school district is adding another High School, with ground being broken this year. I'm sure students withdraw for many different reasons. I honestly haven't heard of any mass withdrawals from the high school in any of the 3 years I've been here. Families move, some may transfer to private schools, and maybe some transfer for reasons like bullying or bad school board decisions, same as in any district. Specifically, what dangers do the teens here need to look out for that are worse than in any other area of central texas. Creeks all over the world can be normally pretty shallow, but get a really big rain and many of them will swell well over their banks. That's no reason to avoid Hutto. Brushy Creek doesn't begin and end here. My experience here may just simply not have been as bad as yours. Honestly, it hasn't been bad at all. I haven't had any problems with my foundation. No vandalism to my property, haven't seen any gang activity (I have seen some graffiti, but am happy about how fast the problem is dealt with). They actually put up cameras where kids tag now. The new Holiday Inn that is coming here is owned by someone in Austin. Our paper is owned by someone from Georgetown. We also have other business investors here from Austin. So if it's really such a crumbling place, why are these people investing here? My guess is because in general, it's not the armpit it's made out to be. I honestly hope that more parents do get involved in their childrens education. I think it's a positive and only makes things better. It shouldn't be viewed as an inconvenience. My daughter won't start school until next term (kindergarden) so by then I may have a different view of things, but from what I know from parents who have kids there, I haven't heard anything discouraging.

[ruprectGern]

OK I have flipped through some of these posts and i was compelled to throw in my .02.

Firstly, considering where hutto is location-wise will give you a pretty good idea why its not treated any better than any of the other outerlying towns on austin's periphery. its too far for people to travel execpt as a bedroom community.

Schools... saying that hutto schools are not on any "crappy" schools list is like saying that my chili con carne aint so bad cause no one has gotten food poisoning from it yet.

I have 2 children in the hutto schools (middle and high) and i can say that these institutions leave a lot to be desired. as far as i can tell, Hutto cares more about high school football than learning as evidenced by the big stadium and the build outs that are occuring there. doesnt anyone remember when the kids didnt have lunch available last year because the cafeteria staff didnt make enough. (that happend a few times)

Both of my kids complain that there is not enough teaching in class and not enough explanations. we have to go over much of their homework with them (when they have it) just to make sure they understand it. and dont get me started on how all learning stops when TAKS comes to town (this is state-wide but still)

why is hutto not on the map for a HEB??? this is simple. HEB is a business and based on the numbers of their superstore on 79 and the nearest other store in taylor. they are probably doing well. it is likely that they dont have, any new data reflecting the pop growth in hutto or any market research as to how many huttoians are shopping at either of these stores.

I contacted HEB about a year ago and they have land purchased about 2 to 3 miles south of hutto but have no plans of developing it as of yet. they are probably waiting for demo info.

finally, on a personal note. Hutto is just too flat. I live in a developement where there probably werent any trees and it appears that any that were there were mowed down. its a cookie cutter city where all the developements look the same and there is no individuality evident. good luck selling your home in one of these developments... your home looks just like the neighbors and i can buy that one brand new for what you are asking used.

i think hutto will grow into its own, but not for a great many years and hopefully I wont be here to see it.

[love roses]

1. Same thing could be said about Buda and Dripping Springs or Leander and Cedar Park, but it usually isn't. It's usually only over towns East of 35 and my guess is that most people that don't hold a grudge for some reason only say things like that due to topography.

2. It's no Eanes, but most people I know who are teachers say the worst thing they can think of about Hutto schools are the pay and sometimes administrative issues as far as discipline go. Otherwise, it's not that bad.

3. The stadium needed updating. It's not any bigger than it already was. The growth also includes a new band hall and some other school buildings and parking. I don't agree they care more about football than learning, but Yes, people love football. They love football in every other town around here as well as evidenced on the news, etc...

4. I hear that about tons of schools. Agreed that ANY classroom ANYWHERE could use more substantive content. Your kids are probably very smart and easily bored when there's not much challenge. I think this is a good argument for parental involvement. I don't know about parental involvement at the middle and High School levels, but know quite a few moms around here with young kids in the kindergarden/grade school level that say parental involvement is good at that level. Maybe those parents will carry that involvement with them when their kids reach Middle and High School level.

5. They have Stats on how many people in Hutto shop at H.E.B. For crying out loud, they mail my points statements here every month or so. If Walgreens can do it, I'm sure H.E.B can. 24 hour fitness as well, since it's going in in Pflugerville.

6. Disagree somewhat on that as well. It's not completely flat everywhere around here. If you don't like the topography, why'd you move East of 35? I don't really care about whether the ground is flat or hilly so much as other things in a town. There aren't so many trees around here because much of this land was farmland. But there are trees. Lots of the new neighborhoods around here are cookie cutter, but again, not all. Drive around the entire town, rural areas included and not everything is cookie cutter. There's currently a new house going up in old town Hutto that is being custom built. I know about Hutto not being built out, and yes, it's gonna take a few years to be able to sell, but that is something we were aware of and since we don't buy real estate as an income source primarily, but as a place to live, we really don't care too much. I've heard about 5 yrs. or so before things balance out a little.

6. As fast as Huttos grown in the last 5-6 yrs, I don't think it'll be that long before it does, but I hope only the best and that goes for any town I live in and for the people of that town.

[Pineapples]

I am a student at Hutto High School and I believe it is being unfairly represented.

If you are looking for an excellent acedemic school that will prepare your child for college, look on the other side of 35. Hutto does not prep any of its students for this venture. Although the percentage of students who pursue college is high, many drop out within the first year.

There has been several high achievers within the last year, but, unfortuately, they are often not given the recognition they deserve. Last year we had a national merit and a semi-finalist. A girl placed at state science fair. The year before we had a semi-finalist. We have had several extra-ordinary athletes. The typical school of choice is UTSA and Texas State.

That is about the only progressive thing I can say about the school academically. Alot of the teachers are coachs who know the material as well as the students do. Most are young, right out of college, and have little experience teaching. They also have the tendency to leave due to pregnancy.. or just leave. The campus boasts of 7 teachers that left last semester. We are expecting 3 to leave for pregnancies so far this semester. Thus a high turnover.

Speaking of pregnant people hutto has an extremely high pregnancy rate. They do not have alternate schools for special ed or pregnancies.

2 of the 3 counselors are out for maternaty leave and the other retired after a devastating mistake on the PSAT. He failed to administer the test correctly.
We currently have a "sub" counselor for emergencies only.

I have seen a lot of people say that the school and area is caucasion. I have lived here for 9 years and it isn't like what it used to be. We have a very large hispanic population. It is not uncommon to have a students speaking spanish in hallways or to be bombared with it in classrooms. We also have a sizeable black community. We have 2 pacific-islanders if you count the forgien exhange student.

Extra-curricular- The school hosts MANY sports and organizations. This is nice because as it is a small school you get more of a change to participate. Sports is the center focus of this school. They recieve a large amount of funding. Alot of other groups or departments lack this input from the school. As it is small, the groups are VERY political. You might be cast for the lead if you date the co-director's daughter. You don't get in, even if you have been doing it for four years, if you just talked bad about her.

UIL- I am sorry... we do really bad in UIL acedemic events. We tend to hold our own with sports, but, unfortuately, we will be moving up to 4A next year. Our volleyball team is usually amazing.

Taks- Average. Most of class-time, effort, and focus goes towards passing this test. Even in PAP-AP classes. As a student I would say we spend more time on this than our actual pap, ap, or course material.

Fighting- You will never have to fear for your safety unless you hang around in the wrong crowds. We do, against popular belief of adults, have several gangs that have spun off of surrounding schools. Last year Hutto High would boast of 1-2 fights per week. Luckily, with a new administive change, we no longer have the same problems and the number of fights have decreased drastically.
We have a slight problem with PDA. Not uncommon to see girl making out or couples kissing. It is usually not a big problem though.

I know last year at the middle school there were children being stabbed by graphite pencils as a form of bullying. I believe that problem has been solved.

The campus at the highschool is small, compact, and crowded, thus the reason for construction. Until that work is completed it should be noted that there are no lockers for seniors unless they barter with an underclassman and tight hallways conditions.

Services- The school has had several service crisises in the past by mis-budgeting. One was with food (happens without fail every year), one was the fact we ran out of paper. We lost a large portion of our janitorial staff last year and the hallways went 3 weeks without being cleaned. Oh behold the bacteria. We have had several water main breakages in the past couple years. There are no overhead annoncements and some classrooms lack phones.
And.. the most scary of all, well in the mind of a person attending the school district. There was a fire upstairs in the "new building." There were no fire alarms (3months after people had moved in), no intercoms, no phones, no bells, and no overhead annoncements. There were no posted fire escape plans.
Happily both the alarms and bell system work this year.

In the past the lower grades have a reputation for lacking in grammer, english, math, and spelling. These are reflected in the problems in classwork at the highschool level. Slowly they have been reforming it slightly to overcome these problems.


That in a nutshell is Hutto Highschool from the perspective of a student.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by love roses

4. I hear that about tons of schools. Agreed that ANY classroom ANYWHERE could use more substantive content. Your kids are probably very smart and easily bored when there's not much challenge. I think this is a good argument for parental involvement. I don't know about parental involvement at the middle and High School levels, but know quite a few moms around here with young kids in the kindergarden/grade school level that say parental involvement is good at that level. Maybe those parents will carry that involvement with them when their kids reach Middle and High School level.

LR..that involvement drops dramatically as the kids progress through High School. You are left with PTA, booster club and maybe some volunteering opportunities. Alot of it is also that the kids are starting to exert their independence. You learn to keep involved other ways though.
What you don't want to do is become a "helicopter parent" as the counselors say