According to NISD in-house counsel Christie Hobbs, the two districts have been in a legal battle over the territory since 2005.
CISD filed the lawsuit against NISD to try to change the districts’ boundaries after Denton and Tarrant counties modified their county limits, NISD staff said.
“More than 16 years passed between [the] filing and the Texas Supreme Court’s final decision,” Hobbs said in a statement. “On June 8, 2018, the trial court issued a judgment in favor of Northwest ISD. On July 1, 2021, the Court of Appeals in Fort Worth issued an opinion and judgment in favor of Northwest ISD. On Jan. 28, 2022, the Supreme Court of Texas denied Carroll ISD’s Petition for Review.”
The area being disputed includes the Carmel Bay and Clariden Ranch neighborhoods, and is located north of Hwy. 114 near Baylor Scott & White Medical Center of Trophy Club, according to officials from both districts.
Students living in homes with a 76092 ZIP code will be able to continue attending CISD schools, officials said. Additionally, future students living in those same households will also be allowed to go to CISD, according to a presentation given to the CISD board of trustees at its March 28 meeting.
As part of the recommendation to the board, staff said children living with grandparents in the disputed area and families renting in that area will also be allowed to attend CISD schools. Families with students or future students that move to the area from this point on will be zoned to NISD schools.
The CISD board unanimously approved staff’s recommendation to add an exhibit to the interdistrict transfer process to allow students in that area to continue to attend CISD schools. Final language for the policy has not yet been approved, according to the district.
