Board members first reviewed a proposed attendance boundary modification for Bryant Elementary School to address the growth within the neighborhoods surrounding that campus, and transition students who reside primarily in the Cane Island development to the upcoming Elementary School No. 44.
The $676.2 million bond package that passed in May triggered the building of Elementary School No. 44, which will be located in Cane Island and is set to open in the fall of 2022. KISD Chief Operations Officer Ted Vierling told the board that the goal with the proposed attendance boundary modification is to help balance enrollment, particularly in the west and northwest parts of the district where there is the most rapid growth.
“We've got to balance enrollment over the next two to three years, and I say two to three years because as you guys know, if you've driven up north of town, it's booming,” Vierling said.
Kris Pool, an attorney and director of planning at Population and Survey Analysts, said without Elementary No. 44, Bryant Elementary would soon have more than 1,700 students enrolled.
“And I don't think anybody really wants that to happen ... so clearly we see the need there for the new school,” she said.
The district is seeking feedback about the proposed attendance modification boundary from the community between June 29 to Oct. 8.
Board members also reviewed a minor attendance boundary modification proposed for Paetow High School intended to provide the campus enrollment relief and increase the student population at Morton Ranch High School.
The timeline for constructing High School No. 10 was delayed because the bond election was delayed from November 2020 to May 2021, Vierling explained. When the new high school does open, it will help relieve enrollment at Paetow High School. If it isn’t built, Paetow High School would have nearly 5,000 students by 2024, Vierling said.
“I've been a principal at a high school with 4,000 kids, and while I love every single kid that I had that year with 4,000, 4,000 is tough,” he said.
The minor attendance boundary modification proposed on June 28 would use Morton Ranch High School to relieve Paetow High School sooner than 2024, when the new high school is slated to open. Only a small number of students who will be enrolled as eighth-graders during the 2021-22 school year and are zoned to Paetow High School would be affected by the proposed modification, which is expected to take effect in the fall of 2022.
Families that could be affected by proposed attendance boundary modifications, as well as the general public, will be given several opportunities to provide input, such as through surveys and email. The board anticipates voting on the attendance boundary modifications in October.
Ultimately, the district is working closely with campus administration to develop the attendance modification boundaries in a way that addresses growth and provides as little disruption to families as possible, Vierling said.
“We never take this stuff lightly, because we know that moving kids out of the school that they're in is a difficult move to make,” he said.
Residents can find more information at www.katyisd.org/ABM/pages/ABM.aspx.
