Leander ISD officials and board members elected to combine the two schools' attendance zoning plans to lessen confusion for families and reduce overlapping changes. Zone boundaries will be set for both schools ahead of Tarvin's opening. The board of trustees approved the move and revised the zoning charter Oct. 22.
Larkspur, Parkside, Plain, Akin and potentially Pleasant Hill elementary schools' enrollment numbers will be affected by the two school openings.
Regular zoning plans consider school size, proximity, minimized change and feeder patterns, according to the district.
LISD stopped the attendance zoning process for Tarvin and the design process for Elementary School No. 29 earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Superintendent Bruce Gearing said. Without a coronavirus-related delay, design work would have begun in August.
The school board discussed whether to delay the design process and construction of Elementary School No. 29.
Discussions on attendance data and zoning will give the district a better look at whether the opening of Elementary School No. 29 should be delayed a year, said Jimmy Disler, LISD chief facilities and operations officer.
Gearing said the board and district can have conversations about future elementary school openings, but the design for Elementary School No. 29 is "critically important." Elementary capacity is limited, especially with prekindergarten enrollment, he said.
"If we don't start it now, we're going to run into timeline issues to get that building open in August of 2022," he said.
According to the annual demographic report presented Oct. 22, both schools are needed despite decreased elementary enrollment due to the coronavirus pandemic. Without the new elementary schools, portables may be required to account for the growing number of students in North Leander schools, Gearing said.
