Due to enrollment unbalances throughout the district, Allen ISD will soon have to make tough decisions to adjust elementary attendance boundaries.
A presentation to the board of trustees last May laid out the current status of campus capacity. According to the presentation, elementary schools located on the west and northwest side of Expressway 75 are closer to new apartment developments and have seen an increase in enrollment as a consequence, while schools located on the east side of 75, where development of single-family units are planned or in progress, have experienced a decrease.
The optimal use of campus is at a 90% functional capacity, which most of the campuses in the heat areas had already surpassed. By May 2022, the Lindsay campus located north of SH 121 was working at max capacity, meaning that they had to use 100% of the building for classes. At max capacity not only the instructional spaces are being used, but also supporting, insularly instructional areas where you find support spaces such as ESL classrooms, music rooms, etc. In contrast, some schools located to the southeast are at a 66% to 54% capacity.
A forecast included in the presentation, expects four other schools to join Lindsay Elementary School surpassing functional capacity within the next eight years, with Kerr and Norton Elementary both on track to get there by the school year 2024-2025.
This presents Allen ISD with the challenge of redistributing the functional capacity that is available on the east side to relieve those schools that are reaching max capacity in the northwest area of the district. In May, there were 3,000 elementary slots opened across the district.
As reported by WFAA, last Friday Allen ISD sent an email to parents informing them of the situation and presenting some of the proposals to address it. According to WFAA, the board is considering the following proposals:
- Realignment of attendance zones at all elementary campuses to alleviate functional capacity issues at several campuses, with an effort to move as few families as possible
- Repurpose Anderson Elementary into an early childhood campus to accommodate the state-required transition to full-ay prekindergarten
- Repurpose Rountree Elementary for future non-instructional programming needs
- Relocate the one-way dual language program from Boyd Elementary to Chandler Elementary
The board will hold two public meetings to discuss the topic on October 6 and again on November 2 when the board will take a vote on the matter.
In case you missed it, here's Local Profile's report on staff shortage in school districts across Texas.
