TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas -- As Austin grows, surrounding communities grow, too. Some school districts are asking voters for help to manage that growth.

“On the ballot at Leander ISD we have a $454 million bond proposal to address growth, safety and facility improvement across our 260-square-mile district,” said Leander Independent School District spokesman Corey Ryan.

On top of addressing the current rate of growth, the package looks ahead at projected growth. 

“We project the need for four new schools in four years and covered in this bond and ultimately we think we’ll need 10 schools in 10 years,” says Ryan. 

The Lake Travis Independent School District is asking voters to consider a bond proposal of their own. The price tag clocks in at $253 million. District leaders say that number came from multiple studies which determined the district’s most pressing needs. 

“We also did a facility condition assessment which looks at every building we have and the district looked from the foundation to the roofline and determined what needs to be repaired - HVACs, floors, ceilings, lighting, plumbing, what have you,” said Lake Travis ISD Superintendent Brad Lancaster.

Bond dollars aren’t subject to recapture and won't reflect a higher tax rate for residents.

“We are 116 square miles, which is large. We are built on about a third of that so we have a lot of room to grow. We have currently 10,387 students and we expect to add 6,000 over the next 10 years,” said Lancaster.

Over at the Eanes Independent School District no bond packages are on the ballot. Instead, voters can expect to see a so-called penny swap and drop.

“We are dealing with a high rate of recapture and that is difficult for us. It’ll be 63 percent of our money that we’ll send out this year,” said Eanes ISD Superintendent Tom Leonard. 

If approved, the maintenance and operations tax rate goes up and the interest and sinking fund rate goes down. That results in a lower overall total tax rate.

“Our objective with our high recapture rate is to keep as much money local as possible so that we can attract and retain high quality personnel,” Leonard said. 

Voters in Lago Vista will also be voting on a $2.9 million bond proposal. That package is intended to make repairs to school facilities and equipment as well as add more buses to its inventory.

“There are times where we’ve had to take students to activities outside of school, drop them off and come back,” said Lago Vista ISD Superintendent Darren Webb.

The price tag is modest compared to packages in surrounding districts but leaders say every penny goes a long way. 

“We have 10 buses, we have eight routes. We really only have two spare buses. We have two special ed buses and a spare there too, so we’re definitely in need of extra buses,” Webb said. 

Election Day is November 7.