While Fort Bend ISD officials are proposing short-term solutions for Neill and Ferndell Henry elementary schools, administrators also provided a timeline during the March 24 board of trustees meeting for how staff will conduct long-range planning over the next three years, which could involve closing elementary and secondary schools. (Community Impact staff) (Hunter Marrow/Community Impact)
The Fort Bend ISD School Boundary Advisory Committee has proposed short-term plans for attendance boundary changes for Ferndell Henry and Neill elementary schools.
Meanwhile, district officials also provided a timeline during the March 24 board of trustees meeting for how staff will conduct long-range planning over the next three years, which could involve closing elementary and secondary schools.
“In the most recent past, we have focused on growth in a few areas and we have not taken a district-wide approach,” Martinez said. “We have to look at our utilization across this district.”
The past
Under the district’s May 2023 bond plan, officials said they planned to mitigate growth in the northwest portion with Elementary School No. 55 in the Harvest Green community and overcrowding in the southeast portion with Ferndell Henry.
In mid-March, district officials announced that newly enrolled students at Neill, which is at 129.1% capacity, would be capped and overflowed to Pecan Grove Elementary School for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year.
Meanwhile, the SBAC’s proposal to only rezone the neighboring Heritage Rose Elementary School for Ferndell Henry only alleviates overcrowding for two to three years at both campuses, officials said. Trustees asked at the Feb. 25 meeting that the following recommendations include rezoning other schools in the southern quadrant.
The present
The district will expand the cap and overflow of Neill to neighboring Oakland Elementary School, Martinez said.
All incoming kindergarten students in the 2025-26 school year within the Neill boundary will be accommodated there, Martinez said. Only students in first through fifth grade within Neill boundaries will overflow to the following campuses based on their proximity to other campuses:
Overflow to Oakland: north of Grand Parkway
Overflow to Pecan Grove: east of Harlem Road
Remaining at Neill: south of the Grand Parkway and west of Harlem Road
The cap and overflow plan for Neill Elementary School will include neighboring Pecan Grove and Oakland elementary schools for the 2025-26 school year. (Courtesy Fort Bend ISD)
All information will be posted on the FBISD, Neill, Oakland and Pecan Grove websites, according to the district website. As the next school year approaches, the district will develop an online platform where newly enrolled parents can confirm their assigned campus based on their address, Martinez said.
Students will continue to receive district transportation if they aren’t within 2 miles of Neill or are capped and overflowed to Pecan Grove and Oakland, Martinez said.
The future
Variables such as demographic changes, increased enrollment in private or charter schools, voucher legislation, budget changes and facilities usage can affect the proposed timeline for long-range planning, Martinez said.
“We do have influencing factors ... that we need to mitigate and take into consideration, but we can't let them hold up or hold us back,” Martinez said.
Martinez said the administration will closely follow these variables while keeping in mind the following timeline:
Spring: Launch communication plan and engage the SBAC in the first year’s scope of work
2025-26: Prioritize highly utilized campuses, plan to open Middle School No.16 in the southeast portion of the district, plan for elementary school closures
2026-27: Continue planning for elementary and possibly secondary school closures
2027-28: Continue addressing campus utilization and plan for area growth
The specifics
District officials will review feeder patterns, or high schools with their designated middle and elementary schools, on a yearly basis, Martinez said. Some feeder patterns are listed twice as review and adjustments need to be made following earlier changes:
Year One (2025-26): Austin, Bush, Crawford, Elkins, Kempner, Hightower, Ridge Point and Travis feeder patterns
Year Two (2026-27): Bush, Clements, Marshall and Willowridge feeder patterns
Year Three (2027-28): Crawford, Dulles, Elkins, Hightower and Ridgepoint feeder patterns
Next steps
Trustees will approve the plans for Ferndell Henry at the April 7 board meeting and listening tour both taking place at Austin High School, Director of Strategic Communications Sherry Williams said in an email.
From May to September, the district will conduct assessments to determine the conditions of all Year One campuses, Martinez said.
In November, FBISD will host a special workshop to receive feedback on recommendations on these campuses, with board action to take place in February, Martinez said.
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