Carroll ISD board of trustees work to solve capacity issues

The Carroll ISD board of trustees is in the process of studying student enrollment projections, ongoing residential construction and demographic trends to identify short- and long-term solutions for overcrowding at Carroll, Johnson and Walnut Grove elementary schools in Southlake.

With three elementary schools projected to be over or at capacity next school year, the board has been thinking about rezoning to address capacity issues.

“As we are still studying capital needs I don’t know if we need to rezone today,” Superintendent Dr. David Faltys said. “I think there are ways we could manage this through our open enrollment transfers and through creating capacity if we decide to move the preschool program. I think that’s where we are inclined right now, but if that’s the recommendation we are going to bring to [the board of trustees], we need to do so probably by January.”

Faltys said if the preschool program moved, it would be to Durham Intermediate School.

“At Carroll, for example, we have five preschool classrooms that house about 64 kids. So if those children move to another campus obviously their enrollment would drop and [Carroll] would pick up another 60 seats, and that would help with capacity,” he said.

Faltys said the preschool program would have its own wing and entrance in the school.

“I actually like the way we are looking at doing something of a phased approach to where we give enough notice instead of saying, ‘OK, we are going to draw these lines and here’s the way it is and like it or not,’” said Christopher Archer, Carroll ISD board of trustees president.

As of Dec. 1 no formal recommendations have been made.