In a nutshell
Rising fifth and seventh graders in HISD might attend a different middle school than they and their parents had planned on, pending the outcome of rezoning for the district's soon-to-be three middle schools once Gus Almquist Middle School opens in 2024.
As district officials narrow the selection of zoning boundaries to include a third middle school, HISD's Attendance Rezoning & Boundary Leveling Committee has recommended rising seventh grade students be able to stay at their current campus for eighth grade.
The details
The committee has recommended the grandfathering process be executed using the district's existing transfer application, exempting the application fee.
Henry Gideon, HISD's assistant superintendent of operations, said the recommendation comes with the requirement that grandfathered students would need to be transported by parents and guardians.
"It's certainly a valuable recommendation. ... We want to cut it off after year one," Gideon said. "We also need to be mindful of those operational efficiencies, making sure that we get to the balance as quickly as we can and that we're not creating an imbalance in funding for those campuses."
What else?
Gideon said the committee has also narrowed an initial four options for rezoning to two, with consideration for how quickly each campus might approach capacity.
Option 1 shows the district remaining under capacity at all three campuses until the 2028-29 school year, projections show, while Option 2 maintains near-balance across them through that time.
"We're not splitting any attendance zones as far as elementary students that would be in the same cohort rising," Gideon said of the second option. "This balance is even better in terms of a rate of growth."
A tentative schedule for the process shows a final recommendation for the rezoning may come before the board at its January 2024 workshop for consideration and potential approval.
