As Eanes ISD officials continue to work on blending two of its elementary campuses, various adjustments will need to be made in order to keep the blended campus' enrollment below 700 students.

Chad Burnett, curriculum, instruction and assessment executive director, and Molly May, assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment, provided the board of trustees with updates on the blend during the Jan. 28 board meeting.

Some context

After months of discussion, EISD trustees unanimously voted to close Valley View Elementary and blend the campus with Barton Creek Elementary during a Jan. 11 board meeting.

The blend is just one cost-saving measure discussed—and now approved—to help alleviate some of the district's projected $6.3 million budget shortfall in 2025-26.


Breaking it down

A few objectives of the blend are to achieve a projected enrollment of less than 700 students, maintain class ratios at 22 students to 1 teacher, and keep section numbers—or the number of classrooms—to 33 or below, Burnett said.

However, Burnett said various adjustments will need to be made in order to accomplish this, including:
  • Relocating the Child Development Center at Barton Creek Elementary
  • Rezoning a portion of Barton Creek Elementary's current attendance boundaries to Forest Trail Elementary. An interactive attendance boundary map can be viewed here to see which areas could be rezoned.
  • Offer Barton Creek Elementary and Valley View Elementary out-of-district transfers seats at other campuses.
Models using these adjustments were used to project enrollment at all EISD campuses next year.


Based off this model, the blended campus would have 33 sections with an average class size of 20.2.


May said additional enrollment considerations for the blended campus include:
  • No new in- or out-of-district transfer students at Barton Creek or Forest Trail, including siblings. However, employee transfer students will still be accepted at Barton Creek.
  • No grandfathering for rezoned students or out-of-district transfers at Barton Creek
  • Current out-of-district transfers will be offered seats at other campuses, based on preference and availability. A lottery system may be used if necessary.
"We do understand and we acknowledge that you have students that have been at Barton Creek for their elementary career, both out-of-district transfers and students that are being rezoned, and that is difficult ...," May said. "We do want families to know that while we're saying we're not grandfathering, we will do everything we can to try and get them back to Barton Creek if that is truly where they want to be."

Going forward

Rezoning requires board approval, and the trustees will vote on this enrollment adjustment at either its Feb. 11 or Feb. 25 board meeting.

Surveys will be also sent out the first week of February to families, which May said will help officials gather the data needed to inform them of available seats at their desired campus.


Additionally, an open house and informational meeting will be held at Forest Trail Elementary on Feb. 5 at 5:30 p.m. for potential rezoned families to tour the campus with the principal.