Round Rock ISD officials will give a final recommendation to district trustees Thursday that alters a plan to redraw attendance area boundaries for a handful of Round Rock middle schools ahead of the 2017-18 school year, according to a meeting agenda released last night.
The plans have created concern among a majority of parents and residents who responded to an RRISD online survey, the results of which were made public this week. Trustees will vote Nov. 17 on the changes.
District officials first presented their plan in September and said it was necessary to rework the boundaries to make room for the future Pearson Ranch Middle School, set to open in August 2017, and to relieve overcrowding in other schools. The plan would affect boundaries for the Cedar Valley, Chisholm Trail, Deerpark and Walsh middle schools.
Materials released with the board agenda including several changes district officials have made to their initial proposal, including:
- Fern Bluff Elementary School would continue sending students to Chisholm Trail Middle School.
- Old Town Elementary School students would move onto Walsh Middle School. District officials initially proposed to have some Old Town students move on to Walsh while others would go to Chisholm Trail Middle School instead.
- The neighborhood of Northwoods at Avery Ranch, apartment complexes around Parmer Lane east of U.S. 183 and neighborhoods that are part of Forest North Elementary's attendance area would become part of Pearson Ranch Middle School's new boundary.
- RRISD's Joe Lee Johnson STEAM and Wells Branch Arts Integration academies would be part of Deerpark Middle School's boundary.
The materials also show changes to proposed schools from which the new Pearson Ranch Middle School could potentially draw students. RRISD now recommends Pearson Ranch take students from Anderson Mill, Elsa England, Forest North, Patsy Sommer and Purple Sage elementary schools, then send students to McNeil High School.
Pearson Ranch Middle School, which will be RRISD's 11th middle school, is under construction on Pearson Ranch Road next to Elsa England Elementary School and RRISD’s Transportation West Center. The middle school will also
be next to the site of RRISD High School No. 6.
Changes to the proposal come after a public review that ran from Sept. 16-Oct. 13 and drew responses from more than 1,100 parents, student and residents both online and during three public forums held in September, according to RRISD.
Most people giving comments during the public forums opposed elements of the district's proposal, with chief concerns including the impact changes could have on the demographic makeup of Chisholm Trail Middle School, the safety of students who walk, ride bikes or take buses to school and the disruption of existing feeder patterns between RRISD's elementary and middle schools.
Nearly six in 10 comments submitted online about the plan were either opposed or strongly opposed to changes, according to RRISD.
The proposed changes would not affect attendance areas for RRISD's elementary schools or high schools.
Trustees will hear the final recommendation during the regular session of their October board meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the Round Rock High School Old Lecture Hall, 300 Lake Creek Dr.
Meeting agenda materials regarding the updated proposal are available online.
