The PISD board heard two proposals regarding middle school attendance boundaries and elementary school feeder patterns during an Oct. 20 board meeting. No vote was taken on the information item.
“While opening schools is [exciting] ... this time also marks a time of hard change,” Deputy Superintendent Bill McLaughlin said. “This process is difficult for many families.”
The details
The proposals come as new middle schools are built and completed to account for the district's growth. These include Bridges Middle School and Watkins Middle School, which will both be completed for the 2026-27 school year.
The recommendations for Bridges Middle School include relieving the student population from Rogers and Jones middle schools. This would mean students from Folsom and Cockrell elementary schools will continue to feed into Rogers Middle School.
Students in Johnson Elementary will all attend Bridges Middle, while students from Lilyana and Reeves elementary schools will be split between Reynolds Middle and the new Bridges Middle School. This split will be based on where students live.
Students from Lilyana will go to Reynolds Middle if they live west of Coit Road or Bridges Middle if they live east of Coit Road.
Students from Reeves Elementary will attend Bridges Middle if they live:
- South of Frontier/Laud Howell Parkway
- North of US 380
- East of Custer Road
- West of Ridge Road
Rising eighth graders can either remain at their current middle school with no transportation provided or attend their new zoned middle school.
Another part of the proposal includes not opening Watkins Middle School for the 2026-27 school year because of financial constraints. Instead, the district would wait a year to open it for the 2027-28 school year.
The district for the 2025-26 school year has a budget shortfall of $29.43 million, which was projected to be a $12 million surplus when reviewed in 2024-25, McLaughlin said.
“There are a lot of reasons behind this recommendation,” he said.
The key driver is the budget shortfall but also the financial benefits in the cost savings in the delayed opening such as salaries. The district can absorb the current growth without cutting programs or staff with the middle school delay, McLaughlin said.
District officials have also reviewed area trends that show the economic growth, current interest rates and the slowing housing market to make the decision to pause the opening of Watkins.
Neighboring districts have also seen recent campus closures after their growth stalled. Area districts like Plano and Lewisville ISDs retired several campuses before the 2025-26 school year. Austin ISD is set to close 13 campuses at the end of this school year.
PISD is not in declining enrollment like some neighboring districts, but it's in the middle of fast growth, which allows them to “hit pause,” McLaughlin said.
“We feel this decision sets us up for the future,” he said.
The background
The zoning process includes reviewing economic trends, housing trends, demographics, student enrollment and feedback from a board committee and the community. District officials also look to find the best recommendation that impacts the least amount of people.
“We try to do the best for the most,” McLaughlin said.
PISD has 33,659 students enrolled as of Oct. 16, which is up more than 2,000 students year over year. A majority of the students are enrolled in the elementary level.
Looking ahead
Community feedback is wanted, Superintendent Holly Ferguson said. The families that are directly affected by the changes will be notified and feedback sessions will be available over the next month.
The board is expected to review the proposal at its November meeting with a potential decision to be made.
“This is not the final, this is just the beginning,” Ferguson said.
