In fast-growth school districts such as Hutto ISD, remapping the dividing lines between school attendance zones is an ever-present issue.
School officials work meticulously to keep track of the number of children in Hutto neighborhoods and monitor growth, HISD Public Information Officer Emily Parks said. But difficult-to-predict factors such as subdivision construction timelines and unexpected downturns in the economy can skew attendance-zone planning.
Attendance zones are the divisions within a district that dictate which elementary, middle and high school a student will attend. Central Texas' rapid growth means schools in the area, particularly smaller elementary schools, can fill up quickly.
School officials must monitor a variety of factors to be prepared to start new school construction, which can take years, as schools nearby begin to approach capacity, Parks said.
Factors that can impact attendance zoning include the size and build-out dates of subdivisions, bus routes, nearby transportation projects, the number of children living on a certain street and their ages, and even if students must cross busy train tracks to get to school, Parks said.
"You want to plan your zoning so that the kids move as little as possible," Parks said. "It is not an exact science, either. It is really hard to do."
HISD met in September and approved some incremental changes to southern Hutto's elementary school 2014-15 attendance zones to address unexpectedly quick subdivision growth, Parks said.
"Now the enrollment at Ray [Elementary School] and [Nadine Johnson Elementary School] is actually over projections with the southern schools by about 40 to 50 kids," according to briefings from a Sept. 11 board of trustees meeting. "[The] Riverwalk and Glenwood subdivisions accelerated, building sooner than originally planned."
HISD Superintendent Doug Killian recommended rezoning some Riverwalk subdivision areas from RES to NJES. The change could hold off any more rezoning efforts until the construction of Norman Elementary School is complete, according to board briefs.
NES is expected to be complete for the 2016–17 school year and should alleviate capacity issues in southern Hutto, Parks said.
Other major subdivisions such as Siena have impacted HISD's zoning process in the past. Siena sits within the city of Round Rock's extraterritorial jurisdiction but feeds into HISD.
Construction on the future 3,500-home subdivision was expected to begin around 2008. Then the recession hit, and construction was put on hold for about five years. That delay played a role in the 2011 closing and 2014 reopening of Veterans' Hill Elementary School, Parks said.
Before the 2014–15 school year Pflugerville ISD moved some of its elementary school zones to accommodate growth and the addition of Dearing Elementary School.
A bond measure passed May 10 by PISD voters will provide funds for an additional high school east of SH 130, as well as two new elementary schools.
"Like the rest of Central Texas, the area the district serves, which includes Pflugerville, North Austin and Round Rock, continues to experience tremendous growth," Deputy Superintendent Troy Galow said in an emailed statement. "That growth drives the need for new facilities to accommodate all the new students calling [PISD] home."
