Taylor Creek Elementary School youths can enjoy the new playground equiment at the Kempner-area campus. Principal Kelly Dunn reports a good start to the new school year. Taylor Creek Elementary Principal Kelly Dunn is thrilled with his new campus. Even though the recently opened building sports fresh splashes of paint and some new furniture, he points out that the Kempner-area school affords the same level of programs and opportunities that Lampasas Independent School District’s other elementary schools provide.

On the first day of the 2009-10 term, Dunn said the staff, students and administrators were excited to be walking into a building that had been a dream of many area residents for a long time.

Lengthy bus rides for Kempner children served as the catalyst for a proposed bond issue for the LISD that passed only after a Kempner school was included in the proposition.

And the Kempner area and Lampasas County as a whole are the beneficiaries of the new school.

Enrollment is at 450 for the campus built to hold 625 students. And classrooms are below the 22-to-1 student-teacher ratio established by the Texas Education Agency -- especially after Dunn added a firstgrade classroom early on to handle an initial overflow of students.

“The best thing is that our kids are not in portable buildings,” said the principal. “We are averaging 19 to 21 students per classroom, and we are not overstaffed.”

Dunn noted that teachers from other Lampasas campuses had to transition to Taylor Creek, but many of them requested the move to Kempner because they reside in the area. “And others, we just had to assign out here. Originally, there may have been some hesitation, but if you gave them a chance to go back to town, they’d stay here.”

And it has been a good thing for the kids whose attendance zone puts them at the new campus, added the principal. “They are resilient and can adapt just about anywhere. And if you give them the love and nurturing they need, they will do just fine.”

Taylor Creek hallways are kid-friendly and offer a happy atmosphere, said Dunn. “The kids just love the colors, and it makes it easier for them to find their hallways and classrooms,” he said of the painted trim, doors and walls.

Dunn also said parents have been very supportive of the new school. About 100 people initially were expected on a recent Family Reading Night, he said, but that number turned into more than 300 for the festivities.

“People have been wanting a school in this area for a long time, and they are showing how important it is to them. We appreciate their support,” he said.

And they no doubt relish that the long bus rides their children earlier endured have changed into much shorter transit times. Dunn said the last bus riders get home no later than 20 minutes after school dismissal. “We have the tightest bus route of any of the elementary schools,” he said.

“The buses here only serve the kids here. This school is right where it needs to be.”

Taylor Creek has 61 staff members with 35 total classrooms (12 are for special services). The library holds 10,000 books, and a science lab and a 28-station computer lab also serve the campus. A second computer lab should be operational by Thanksgiving, said Dunn.

Students are offered music, art, and Gifted and Talented education. Restrooms with sinks are in each prekinderg arten, kindergarten and first-grade classroom, while older students have restrooms in each hallway.

“This building fulfills all of our needs,” said the principal. “There are always extras we would like to have if we could afford them, but we know finances are tight. We are very fortunate. Our district does everything it can to support us.”

“Our administration has been great, and we are thankful for Mr. [Randy] Hoyer’s [superintendent] support. We have everything we need right now.”

And Dunn said his days at Taylor Creek have been wonderful.

“When I’m having a bad day, all I have to do is walk down a hall and get hugs and high-fives from the kids, and then it’s all good.”