The Fort Bend Independent School District has decided that the original pan was the best plan, and will present at public hearings an option for High School #11 that only rezones students in the immediate area.
High School #11 is located at 500 Waters Lake Blvd., in the Hillwood Development near Sienna Plantation. It is scheduled to open to freshman and sophomores in the 2010-2011 school year.
“I think we focus on what we originally came her to focus on,” said Board President Bob Broxson at a board workshop Monday night.
During previous zoning workshops, the board explored the possibility of doing an overall rezoning to even out the high school population – adding students to schools under capacity and relieving overcrowding at school such as Clements High School.
“I would feel more comfortable focusing on our original intent, which was opening High School #11, and maybe study this further,” said Board Member Laurie Caldwell. “Not that this shouldn’t be addressed in the future.”
The principals of both Dulles and Willowridge high schools told the board previously that they wanted more students – and Clements Principal Kevin Moran, managing a school over capacity by 607 students, said they are comfortable with their numbers.
“I think we heard all the principals speak – the larger these schools are the more flexible academically,” said Broxson.
The plan for High School #11 that will be presented at two public hearings before coming to the board for a vote has students south of Hwy. 6 zoned to the new campus.
The current feeder pattern in that area is Schiff, Sienna Crossing and Scanlan Oaks elementary schools to Baines Middle School to Elkins and Hightower high schools.
The proposed zoning would add the new Elementary School #45 at 636 Glendale Lakes Drive in Rosharon and send all students south of Hwy. 6 to High School #11.
Board Member David Reitz warned that if growth continues at Clements High School, the board will be back next year to discuss options for rezoning to relieve overcrowding that already exists.
Board Member Daniel Menendez suggested reviewing plans for specialized academies at the high schools, possibly opening academies in under-enrolled schools first to draw more students.
The district will now schedule public hearings, and could tweak the plan before the board votes on the final attendance zone.
Remember who you elected and voted in officially your FBISD BOT 2009 and previous elections?
Ho-hum—some things never change.
I find this site helpful regarding which schools are performing and which areas are no longer. It is located at schoolperformancemaps.com and you can perform a zip code search. The FBISD area is very interesting.
“The principals of both Dulles and Willowridge high schools told the board previously that they wanted more students”
Another example of how FBISD needs to feed the subdivisions of Plantation Trails/Plantation Settlement in the First Colony portion of Missouri City into the Lexington Creek/Dulles/Dulles schools, instead of Quail Valley/QVM/Elkins. Those are the only subdivisions on the west side of FM 1092 that are forced to cross FM 1092 to attend the lower-ranking Quail Valley schools, instead of attending the First Colony area schools along with everyone else on that side of the road. We fought and fought FBISD over this when we lived over there, and when we could see it wouldn’t change we put our house up for sale and moved to a better school zone.
Actually, I think most of the students who live in Riverstone were rezoned to Clements from Elkins during the last rezone. Only those south of University Boulevard stayed at Elkins.
‘Diversity’ should not even enter the equation, it’s all logistics and distance from the school.
Conservative 1,
I know a few parents who live in Sieanna and Riverstone who have their kids in Elkins and Hightower. Most of the students who live in Riverstone, in fact do go to Elkins. Zoning commuities like these(with high taxed areas) help ‘level’ out the schools(EHS and HHS), also making it more diverse. Re-zoning definitely needs to take place at all school in the highway 6 area.
What’s that song taking the easy way out. 3000 at Clements and 1100 at the new campus?
People out in the suburbs buy homes specifically because of the high school, so when you have kids and you have the means, you WILL move them to the percieved best school. If you would get rid of the gangs and illegal aliens maybe everyone that CAN move won’t crowd an existing school like Clements and choose the one where they currrently live. If you really think people are going to send their kids to Elkins or Hightower and pay higher taxes than those that go to Clements, well then, you are dreaming.
The Riverstone kids were zoned out of Elkins to Clements to make room for the Sienna kids. Now the Sienna kids are going, but the Riverstone kids aren’t coming back because the Clements’ principal likes being able to offer more classes and have more flexibility for scheduling. So will the Elkins students not have as many opportunities as they Clements students because they don’t have the numbers? This does not seem to be in the best interest of the students.
“FBISD Board Decides To Go With ‘Least Disruptive’ Plan For Rezoning”
it almost sounds if they have the kids best interest at heart.
gasp……how could they?
What!? Of course growth will continue at CHS. It will be in the 3,000′s next fall. I do not agree with that at all! Re-zoning needs to take place with Clements, Dulles, Elkins, and Hightower. The board will realize their mistake in the near future with the whole Clements situation.
b_tabor,
“The pattern of favoritism continues while they neglect the established neighborhoods for the newer ones.”
- You’re exactly right!
This is very much like the LCISD zoning hearings. All 5 of the plans excluded the new high schools being developed in Fulshear and at the George Ranch area forcing most of the low SES students and families into the older schools and campuses. The pattern of favoritism continues while they neglect the established neighborhoods for the newer ones.
From my past experiences in other districts don’t you usually have the public meetings first before announcing what you are going to do and vote on it. If Clements is over capacity then shouldn’t that be dealt with too? Looks like another LCISD type process. Ever since they removed at large citizen representatives from the zoning committee and packed it with nothing but district employees this has appeared to be nothing more than a staged public meeting.