LISD determines elementary attendance boundaries

LISD determines elementary attendance boundaries

Written by Rachel Youens Sunday, 07 January 2007

After much contention by parents worried that students living in apartments were being segregated into one school, LISD has settled on attendance boundaries for the 2007-08 school year.

The district used a 230-member citizen’s committee formed in September to create possible boundary schemes in order to balance attendance in overcrowded schools and begin filling in elementary #18 in the River Place subdivision and #19, built from a modified chemical plant, in Grandview Hills. The committee used criteria such as how long a student will spend riding to school, whether they can walk to school and whether their boundaries are likely to change in the near future.

In the process of developing the new boundaries, the committee ran into several issues they could not overcome. In order to set elementary #18 and #19’s enrollment higher, many students would be forced to travel farther. When the committee included only the neighborhoods closest to elementary #18 and #19 in their school zones, it gave the schools a population of primarily apartment dwelling students.

The committee presented their plan, UA, to the school board Nov. 16. They also presented the dilemmas they encountered and that they were deadlocked in a close vote of 21-14.

The administration took the UA plan and made its own tweaks, using the committee’s recommendations. When the revised plan, UA3, was brought to the school board Dec. 7 more than 100 parents and community members were in attendance for intense discussion. The board approved the plan with a few final changes, and the new zones will go into affect in the next school year.

Steiner Ranch, Laura Welch Bush and Deer Creek are three of the district’s most crowded elementary schools. The new plan shifts students at these schools and Cypress Elementary to the two new schools. Much of the area being brought into the new elementary schools encompasses apartment complexes lining RM 620. However, Bill Britcher, LISD communications director, said the decision was based on students’ proximity to the school and not their living situations.

At least 189 students from Cypress and 238 from Steiner Ranch will go into elementary #19. From Laura Welch Bush 579 students and from Cypress 38 students will be transferred to elementary #18. Another 218 students will be shifted from Deer Creek to Cypress.

Some parents, upset over the new boundaries, have said they plan to take legal action against the district. At press time, LISD had not received any notice of legal action or lawsuits.

The school board is asking for public assistance in naming elementary #18 and #19 and is soliciting submissions. The board has suggested historical sites and events or significant state and national individuals, and will be taking submissions until Jan. 25. Mail submissions to Kathy Bailey, P.O. Box 218, Leander, TX 78646.

New Elementary School Boundaries — 2007-08

Elementary #19

Neighborhoods attending #19

• Grandview Hills
• Verandah at Grandview Hills Apts.
• Sonterra 1 and 2
• Windy Ridge
• Painted Bunting
• Foundation Road
• Avendero Apts
• Vistas at Canyon Creek
• Cantabrea Crsg Apts.
• Comanche Pass
• Windy Point
• Volente
• Escalon at Canyon Creek
• Escalon Apts. at Canyon Creek
• The Mansions at Canyon Creek
• Lime Creek Road between FM 3769 and Travista

Elementary #18

Neighborhoods attending #18

• Jefferson Canyon Apts.
• Tintera at Canyon Creek
• River Place North
• Alicante Townhomes
• Riverlodge Apts.
• River Place South
• Long Canyon
• Westminster Glen
• Glenlake