What’s happening
The latest map from the Attendance Zoning Committee, named Map Option 1, is an updated version of previous starter maps presented in October. The board of trustees discussed the new map at a meeting Nov. 18.
The proposed map addresses concerns regarding rezoning current Cypress Springs Elementary School planning units, planning units 38 and 39, in the west, by Bear Creek Village and Edelman Estates. Planning units are small subdivisions within attendance zones.
Option 1 keeps students in planning units 38 and 39 within the Cypress Springs zone, rather than previous versions of starter zoning maps that rezoned families to Rooster Springs Elementary School. Many parents cited safety concerns with new travel routes and leaving their school communities.
Shannon Mazza, a Cypress Springs resident who voiced her initial concerns at an informational meeting in October, said she is in support of the newest map, as it prevents students in planning units 38 and 39 from being zoned to a new school. Planning units 38 and 39 have been rezoned at least twice in the past.
“I believe that the map [DSISD Superintendent Holly Morris-Kuentz] is recommending tonight reflects a thoughtful balance addressing logistics, enrollment across six elementary and two middle schools, incorporating community feedback and, most importantly, minimizing disruption to the well-being of our children and families,” Mazza said at the board meeting Nov. 18.
Despite Mazza’s support for Option 1, she said she still wants the board to consider community feedback as they draw closer to making a decision on the new attendance zones.
“If there's an opportunity to incorporate additional changes to address more community feedback, I respectfully urge you to do so, but not at the expense of neighborhoods like mine, that have been carefully reviewed and thoughtfully included in the [new] map,” Mazza said. “The balance achieved in this recommendation reflects a process that considered many perspectives, and I hope that balance is preserved in your final decision.”
Other DSISD families voiced upset about zoning changes in the new map. Families in the Sunset Canyon neighborhood, which is part of the current Planning Unit 19, said they are concerned about safety and moving their students to a new school. If the new map is approved, Sunset Canyon residents would be rezoned to attend Sycamore Springs schools.
The new route would require students to travel south, making a left turn to cross Hwy. 290 to get to Sycamore Springs Elementary and Sycamore Springs Middle School. Families in the Sunset Canyon neighborhood said they are worried about the dangers of left turns at intersections.
Breca Tracy, Sunset Canyon resident and DSISD parent, said the board needs to consider student safety in the rezoning maps.
“I don’t understand how taking an unprotected left on [Hwy.] 290 is a safe option for anyone,” Tracy said. “I don't understand why our families are being put at risk when a safer option could have been just to stay in our neighborhood.”
Sunset Canyon, and all of Planning Unit 19, was not moved to Sycamore Springs in any of the three previous maps shown in October. All three starter maps had Planning Unit 19 rezoned to the new Elementary School No. 6. If students are zoned to go to the new elementary school, the travel route would include a right turn on Hwy. 290 and a right turn into the Headwaters neighborhood.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration advises minimizing left turns in school bus routes, as it is a leading precrash event in all crashes, compared with right turns. Minimizing left turns also leads to more efficiency by reducing wait times at intersections.
Map Option 1 also splits the current Planning Unit 19 into 19A and 19B. Sunset Canyon would be part of 19B.
Mandy Cook, Attendance Zoning Committee member and Cypress Springs resident, said moving 19B to Sycamore Springs considers capacity across the district while accounting for future growth in the west side.
“You have to balance the schools on the east side of town—Rooster, Sycamore, Cypress— to allow them for the future growth on the west side,” Cook said. “There's two schools right now on the west side of town. So with the third elementary being built, and if the heat maps are pushing more growth west as well, with elementary No. 7 on the horizon, you have to look at where structurally those numbers are to balance the east side.”
Board President Stefani Reinold said rezoning Sunset Canyon to Sycamore Springs instead of Elementary School No. 6 balances attendance numbers at both schools. If Sunset Canyon North and South move to the new elementary, east side elementaries would have 700 students, with west side campuses potentially around 1000 students, she said. Reinold is not on the Attendance Zoning Committee.
Managing overcapacity also improves student safety, experiences and access to resources, Cook said.
“This is about ‘What's the teacher to student ratio?’ ‘Do we physically have enough classrooms for these kids?’ ‘What does it look like at recess?’ ‘What does it look like when these kids go to their essential classes?’” Cook said. “You can't physically keep kids safe when the numbers don't balance out, and that puts a stress on teachers and staff. That is astronomical.”
Moving Sunset Canyon to the east side also considers long-term zoning situations, Reinold said. Future rezoning for elementary schools may occur starting before the 2027-28 school year. If a new high school is constructed, pending bond approval, zoning for the new high school and middle schools will occur for the 2028-29 school year.
The new high school would be in east Dripping Springs off Darden Hill Road. Though not official, Reinold said Sunset Canyon would likely be rezoned to attend the new high school. Moving Sunset Canyon to the east now, rather than west, would prevent the neighborhood from being rezoned to a different area in the future.
How we got here
The new map is the latest in a monthslong process of creating new attendance zones. The new zones come as the district continues construction of its sixth elementary school and expansion of Sycamore Springs Middle School.
The new zones also aim to address over-enrollment at Dripping Springs Elementary School and Walnut Springs Elementary School, and overcapacity across the district. For the 2024-25 academic school year, 8,900 students are enrolled at the district. The capacity limit is 8,850 students, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The district anticipates the most growth in the western part of the district. The district is projecting over 1,500 more students in the Dripping Springs Middle School zone, over 1,400 more students at the Dripping Springs Elementary zone and over 1,200 more students in the Walnut Springs Elementary zone, according to district documents.
DSISD formed the Attendance Zoning Committee in August to create new zoning maps. The map is made up of district parents, community members, DSISD board members Shanda DeLeon and Mary Jane Hetrick, and other district officials. The proposed maps were created with initial assistance from Population and Survey Analysts.
The committee was tasked with creating new zones considering the following:
- Optimizing utilization of district facilities while relieving overcrowded schools
- Deferring timing of future construction
- Considering a family’s proximity to schools and keep subdivisions together where possible, zoning students to the closest campuses
- Minimizing number of times a student is rezoned by considering future zoning changes as more zones are developed
Also of note
The board will consider options to “grandfather” students to remain at their current schools. Specific policy details on grandfathering, including how long a student can stay at a school they are “grandfathered” to, will not be decided until the new attendance zones have been finalized, Reinold said.
Stay tuned
The board of trustees will consider “all possible map options” before taking a final vote at a board meeting Dec. 16, Reinold said. There are not currently any more planning sessions, workshops or community information sessions planned before the board meeting.
Once the attendance zones are finalized, the school attendance boundaries will be published in January. Grandfathering policies and applications for schools will be open in spring 2025. The new zones go into effect August 2025 for the 2025-26 school year.
