At the June 23 board meeting, Beth Martinez, deputy superintendent chief of staff, said a majority of campuses are either under or over capacity—highlighting the urgent need for data-driven boundary adjustments across the district.
"Every single campus has the potential of having a change,” said Martinez. "Our priority for year one is really [identifying] the highly utilized campuses and providing relief to them."
The snapshot
Enrollment across the district is expected to stabilize over the next 10 years, with fewer new housing developments planned for the eastern and central areas, according to the Population and Survey Analyst demographic firm.
As a result, most elementary schools are projected to be under capacity by the 2025–26 school year, Martinez said.
In contrast, new housing construction in the Sienna and Harvest Green areas is driving enrollment growth in the northwest and southeast parts of the district, according to PASA.
While there are over 20,000 available seats across the district, several schools in the Northwest and Southeast corners of the district are experiencing over 110% capacity, Martinez said. The highest being Neill Elementary School at 129.1% capacity, which has since been capped and overflowed to other campuses.
How we got here
As part of the district’s May 2023 bond plan, officials proposed building Elementary School No. 55 in the Harvest Green community to address growth in the northwest, and using Ferndell Henry to help with overcrowding in the southeast.
However, Elementary School No. 55 was put on hold in October due to a bond shortfall, according to Community Impact, and leftover bond money is unlikely to yield the money required to operate the school without land sales or another bond election, said Chief Financial Officer Bryan Guinn at the April 7 meeting.
Meanwhile, the board’s April decision to only zone Heritage Rose to Ferndell Henry is projected to only ease overcrowding at both schools for two to three years and leaves Sienna Crossing Elementary School to remain at overcapacity for the next decade.
What’s being done
Martinez said FBISD officials have already implemented several short-term enrollment management strategies for the 2025-26 school year, including:
- Seven portable buildings added at over-capacity campuses
- Cap-and-overflow policies for Neill Elementary School
- Transfer restrictions for schools operating at 90% or higher utilization
At the June 23 meeting, the board unanimously approved a $400,000 facilities condition index, which will ground decisions for boundary planning in addition to walk zone reviews and program needs, Martinez said.
Looking ahead
The School Boundary Planning Committee will begin meeting in August to prepare for presentation and board vote for the Northwest portion of the district in October and Southeast portion of the district in December, Martinez said.
