By February, the board of trustees will vote to rezone some students to accommodate the opening of Elementary School No. 12 and Middle School No. 5 while balancing enrollment across current campuses, Chief of Strategic Operations Lannon Heflin said at a Nov. 4 board workshop.
The update
Across elementary campuses, the rezoning proposal would move:
- Around 470 students from Cooper and Williams elementaries to Elementary School No. 12
- Around 230 students from Wolf Ranch Elementary to San Gabriel Elementary
- Around 130 students from Wolf Ranch Elementary to Frost Elementary
- Around 200 students from from Carver Elementary to Williams Elementary
Additionally, the new attendance zones would move some middle school students:
- From Forbes and Wagner middle schools to Middle School No. 5
- From Tippit and Forbes middle schools to Wagner Middle School
- From Benold Middle School to Tippit and Forbes middle schools
Under the new zones, all Purl Elementary students would attend Wagner Middle School instead of Tippit and Forbes middle schools, Heflin said.
Some students may be allowed to stay at their current campus through grandfathering, he said.
How we got here
Middle School No. 5 and Elementary School No. 12 are slated to open for the 2026-27 school year off Patriot Way and SH 130 near East View High School.
The construction of the new campuses comes as GISD experiences significant growth, GISD officials said. The district’s enrollment is expected to increase from 13,800 students to nearly 20,000 students over the next decade, according to data from Zonda Demographics.
To garner community feedback on rezoning, the district has formed a committee of parents and received comments from over 2,100 people through an online survey. Parents' top three concerns were on campus safety as it relates to their school’s size, the campus’s proximity to their home, and academic programs and achievement, according to district data.
The impact
The new attendance zones would reduce the number of students attending Carver, Cooper, Mitchell, Purl, Williams and Wolf Ranch elementaries, lowering the capacity of Wolf Ranch from 101.4% to 76.2%
San Gabriel Elementary’s enrollment would increase from 353 to 581 students. Ford, McCoy and Village elementaries would maintain a similar number of students.
Enrollment would decrease at Benold, Tippit and Wagner middle schools while slightly increasing at Forbes. Middle School No. 5 would welcome around 500 students in the fall.
What they’re saying
Trustee Jennifer Mauldin expressed concerns about Elementary School No. 12 having the greatest number of students in the district with a low socioeconomic status at 82.7%. Similarly, Middle School No. 5 would have 61.9% low socioeconomic students, the most of any middle school, according to district documents.
“That’s going to be a real challenge,” Mauldin said. “I think that that’s a really hard leap for families. ... I think it’s incredibly difficult to feel good about that situation.”
Trustee Stephanie Blanck said the district should focus on balancing student demographics across campuses.
School board President James Scherer noted that GISD will need to rezone some students again ahead of the opening of High School No. 4 in 2028
Get involved
Parents and community members may share their comments online and attend the following town hall events from 6-7 p.m. on:
- Nov. 10 at Wagner Middle School
- Nov. 13 at San Gabriel Elementary
- Dec. 9 at Wolf Ranch Elementary
- Dec. 11 at Williams Elementary
- Jan. 28 at Carver Elementary
- Jan. 29 at Tippit Middle School
- Feb. 5 at Purl Elementary
Community members can submit their name nominations for Elementary School No. 12 and Middle School No. 5 through Nov. 14.
