The Hays CISD Attendance Boundary Rezoning Committee will meet Nov. 17 to develop new attendance zone maps for the 2016-17 school year as the district gets set to open its sixth middle school.

The committee presented two plans at a rezoning public forum Nov. 10. A third plan was submitted by parents who live in the Buda Elementary School attendance zone, HCISD spokesperson Tim Savoy said. Draft plans do not call for changes to the district's high school maps, Savoy said.

"The process is still very much in motion right now, and it is the time for people to weigh in," he said.

HCISD community members will get their next chance to weigh in on the new maps at a Dec. 1 public forum. Savoy said the committee will likely present the fifth and sixth drafts of the district's attendance zone changes. The rezoning committee is expected to present its final recommendation to the board of trustees on Dec. 14, he said.

Savoy said the sooner the district can finalize the attendance zones for next year the better. Students' families typically start getting to know their new school in early spring. But if consensus is not reached in December, the committee will not hasten its decision.

"They are not going to rush to a map that isn't the right fit for the community," Savoy said.

Savoy said among the main concerns that have been voiced is the elementary school the Cullen Country subdivision is zoned to. Residents in the neighborhood want to stay within the Elm Grove Elementary School zone. However, one plan calls for students in that subdivision to attend Buda Elementary School.

Savoy said because of overcrowding at HCISD elementary schools portable classrooms will be added to the campus. Should Cullen Country remain in Elm Grove's zone additional portable classrooms will need to be added, he said.

Also at issue, Savoy said, is downtown Buda residents' desire to remain in Dahlstrom Middle School's boundaries as opposed to the Barton Middle School zone.

Savoy said the new middle school will create an imbalance in the enrollment numbers at Dahlstrom and Barton. The committee will work to reach a solution that distributes students as evenly as possible, he said.

Meanwhile, an HCISD naming committee has recommended the name Dr. T.C. McCormick Jr. Middle School for the district's newest school, which will be located at the intersection of Hillside Terrace and Dacy Lane. Savoy said McCormick was a well-known physician in the area and served as mayor of Buda. Trustees will vote Nov. 16 whether to approve the name.

The school's mascot will be the tiger, and the colors will be royal blue and black.

Savoy said the rezoning process is always difficult.

"I know it's unsettling when folks hear about the changes," he said. "It always is."

Savoy said the district welcomes input from the community as the new maps take shape.