“We do not take this process lightly,” Superintendent Courtney Carpenter said. “Staff have been working with [the district demographer] for over seven months and I want to ensure people know how intentional this process is, but there are no perfect scenarios.”
The details
In the growth plan, the district will transition to two middle schools in the 2026-2027 school year and two high schools in the 2027-28 school year. To support this transition, new attendance zones must be established.
Argyle Middle School on US 377 once served as the district’s high school before Argyle High School opened in the 2021-22 school year. The district plans to open a second middle school on FM 407 in 2026 and turn the US 377 campus back into a high school in 2027 to provide enrollment relief. Starting in 2027, the US 377 campus will begin to serve high school students alongside its middle school student enrollment with more high school grades to be added each year until it can serve as a dedicated high school in 2029.
The FM 407 campus, which broke ground this summer, was part of the 2022 bond and is the catalyst for both the high school and middle school transitions. In the 2026-27 school year, seventh and eighth graders will be zoned to both the FM 407 and US 377 campuses. To facilitate this transition a future bond would be needed by 2025 to allocate funds to purchase land for the other middle school to be opened by 2029, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Zonda Education demographer Hudson Huff presented updated enrollment projections alongside a boundary adjustment proposal at the Nov. 18 board meeting.
Zooming in
Going into the 2024-25 school year AISD officials expected to serve around 5,800 students. However, according to Huff’s presentation that number came in closer to 6,100, over 700 more students than the previous school year. Next year Huff projects enrollment to increase to over 6,600.
The district still anticipates to serve over 11,000 students by 2033-24, nearly double its current student population. This growth spurred the plan to split into multiple middle schools and high schools requiring zoning adjustments.
In the proposed plan, neighborhoods west of highway 377 would be zoned to the FM 407 middle school once it opens and Argyle High School at Canyon Falls.
Neighborhoods east of highway 377 would be zoned to Argyle Middle School on 377 until an additional middle school is built in 2029 and the 377 campus transitions into a high school. Once this occurs, those neighborhoods will be zoned to the new middle school and the 377 high school, according to the proposal. One section in the Hilltop neighborhood west of highway 377 will also be zoned to these campuses.
The context
According to district documents, the proposed boundaries were developed using the following guiding parameters:
- Maximize school capacities based on demographic projections before rezoning or adding facilities
- Consider established neighborhoods and planned developments
- Factor in major infrastructure, such as railroad tracks, highways, and traffic patterns
- Account for future road construction, including the highway US 377 Expansion
- Evaluate proximity to facilities and transportation routes
- Assess where neighborhoods connect to major roadways
If approved, the new middle school and high school attendance zones would begin to take effect in the fall of 2026 when the middle school on FM 407 opens, according to the proposal. As new schools open and the district transitions to two high schools through 2029, the respective students will adhere to the new zones.
AISD parents can review the proposed zoning information and provide feedback through Dec. 2 using this form.
The board of trustees will consider taking action on the proposed attendance zones during their next regularly scheduled meeting on Dec. 16, according to district officials.
Argyle ISD elementary school zones will remain the same until the fifth elementary campus opens in the 2027-28 school, Carpenter said.
