Crowley ISD plans to spend the next month talking to community members as it begins to redraw elementary school attendance zones.
The district is drafting new boundaries to balance its recent growth and prepare for its 16th elementary school, which is scheduled to open in August for the 2024-25 academic year. Trustees are expected to consider the attendance lines at their March 28 meeting.
“As you know, just living inside Crowley ISD boundaries and driving around, we are growing at a significant rate,” Superintendent Michael McFarland said during a Feb. 8 school board meeting.
Enrollment projections show Crowley ISD growing between 2% and 2.5% annually for the next five years.
Since 2017, Crowley ISD has added 1,726 students, for an enrollment of 17,036. The district also broke an elementary enrollment record in 2023 with 6,913 students, according to demographics firm School District Strategies.
“We need to make space at most of our elementary schools. On the edge of the district, (we) are overcapacity,” McFarland said.
The district plans to talk to residents about the proposed attendance zone changes through virtual and in-person meetings, spokesman Anthony Kirchner said. Affected campuses will hold open houses for new families and students.
Kirchner emphasized that Crowley ISD wants to minimize changes for families.
“If they’ve been rezoned because of their neighborhood and they would like to stay at their current school, there will be a process for that request,” Kirchner said.
Trustee June Davis echoed Kirchner and said she hopes families see the district doing two things.
“I hope parents will understand that, No. 1, it is necessary because we are growing and, No. 2, it will be done in a loving way with minimal disruptions to their families,” she said.
Jacob Sanchez is an enterprise journalist for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or via @_jacob_sanchez. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
