At a Jan. 13 meeting, LISD trustees approved a resolution amending a local policy that grandfathered students during zoning changes.
The resolution impacts students and their siblings affected by the board's decision to close five schools and adjust boundaries for seven others in December. The changes will go into effect in the 2025-26 school year, according to district documents.
The details
In addition to the boundary adjustments at Bluebonnet Elementary, Creek Valley Middle School, Degan Elementary, Downing Middle School, Lakeland Elementary, Lewisville Elementary and Memorial Elementary STEM Academy, students at Peters Colony Elementary, Morningside Elementary and Griffin Middle School will see boundary adjustments as a result of the school closures.
Before the Jan. 13 changes, the board policy allowed elementary students and their siblings entering fourth and fifth grades, and middle school students entering eighth grade to remain at their zoned campus, Superintendent Lori Rapp said.
The board amended the policy to allow elementary students and their siblings entering kindergarten through fifth grade, and middle school students and siblings entering seventh and eighth grades in the 2025-26 school year, to request to stay at their zoned campus, Rapp said. These grade levels are affected by the closures and boundary adjustments.
The policy doesn’t cover incoming sixth graders who are siblings of grandfathered students. These students will need to apply for a transfer request to remain at their current zoned campus, Rapp said.
Families exercising this option must provide their own transportation for students, according to district documents.
Zooming in
According to the rezoning plan, the Lakeside mixed-use development in Flower Mound will be rezoned from Bluebonnet Elementary to Old Settlers Elementary School, which is at less than half of its 1,038 student capacity. Students at Bluebonnet and Old Settlers Elementary are zoned to Shadow Ridge and McKamy middle schools, and the rezoned students will continue to feed into Shadow Ridge.
Conversely, LISD staff hope to bolster Creek Valley Middle School STEM Academy enrollment with a proposed boundary readjustment, which would see all Coyote Ridge Elementary students feed into that school. Coyote Ridge students are currently zoned to attend either Creek Valley or Killian Middle School. With the changes, Coyote Ridge students west of State Hwy. 121 would be zoned to Creek Valley.
Downing Middle School STEM Academy is another underutilized campus. To address this, staff plan to rezone the Flower Mound Elementary School boundaries so that students feed into Downing Middle rather than being split between that campus and Lamar Middle School, according to the plan.
This will expand the Downing attendance zone to east of Long Prairie Road and west of Morriss Road.
District staff anticipate enrollment at Memorial Elementary STEM Academy to approach its 900 student capacity within a decade. Students zoned to Memorial in the Meridian and Hidden Cove neighborhoods will be relocated to Camey Elementary should the board approve the adjustments.
Lewisville and Degan Elementary zoning adjustments alongside Lakeland Elementary were made as a result of the retirement of Creekside Elementary. According to the plan, Quailquest, Harbor Heights and Manco Manor neighborhoods will be relocated from Lakeland Elementary to Deegan Elementary. Students living in the Lakeland Terrace 2 neighborhood will be rezoned from Lewisville Elementary to Lakeland Elementary. These relocated students will continue to attend Hedrick Middle School.
Looking ahead
The policy will go into effect along with the boundary adjustments starting in the 2025-26 school year this fall. A comprehensive rezoning plan for the five closed campuses and the seven boundary adjusted campuses can be found here.
