At the February 9 GNBEDF Annual Meeting, Comal ISD Superintendent Andrew Kim was the keynote presentation.  Kim provided attendees and those joining virtually slides of information on the growth of the district despite the pandemic.

The district follows closely new home starts throughout all their attendance zones, and in 2020 starts increased over 2019.  Enrollment also grew at a rate much faster than predicted.  Teacher attendance rose from 94.4% in the 2019 school year to 95.5% in 2020.  Additionally, the district had 82% in-person attendance of students in the classroom.

Kim presented just-released data from Templeton Demographics that were going to be shown to the school board for the first time that evening.  Total starts for new single-family homes rose 12.4% for the year, and Comal ISD ranked 2^nd out of 20 San Antonio school districts in new home starts.

The district is half the size of the state of Rhode Island, and a fifth high school, Pieper High School, is set to open in August of this year.  The Templeton data showed activity heaviest along Highway 281, but all areas were active with home starts.  Kim says enrollment is expected to top 30,000 in the 2024-25 school year. 

Kim ended the presentation with news of a likely November 2021 bond issue that may include an events center.  Teacher pay raises according to Kim would have to be via local revenues.  He ended by exclaiming that the district’s staff had performed above and beyond during stressful times and deserved such consideration by voters.