Northwest ISD staff presented draft attendance‑zone recommendations Feb. 8 intended to reduce overcrowding at several campuses and to preserve long‑term feeder alignment. The proposal would create a new elementary attendance zone for a planned Berkshire campus and shift smaller portions of existing zones among Schluter, Curtis and Nance elementaries; it also included feeder adjustments affecting Cox/Roanoke, Justin/Prairie View and the Adams/Chisholm/Wilson middle‑school cluster.

Why it matters: Presenters said district growth has accelerated—Templeton demographic data cited more than 1,000 housing starts in the most recent quarter—and staff are trying to align attendance zones in ways that minimize future boundary changes, preserve feeder patterns and reduce the need for temporary classrooms. Staff described the proposed package as a multi‑phase plan tied to future school openings, including a middle school (middle school 7) anticipated with a successful bond.

Key elements summarized by staff (Tim McClure and team):

- New Berkshire elementary: carve a new zone from parts of Curtis, Nance and Schluter to provide relief to crowded campuses and accommodate planned multifamily and single‑family development.

- Cox/Roanoke adjustment: move an area with roughly 54 elementary students from Cox to Roanoke to balance enrollments.

- Justin/Prairie View/Chisholm cluster: shift a small portion of Justin’s far‑west boundary to Prairie View to ease pressure at Justin, and consider middle‑school realignments that keep elementary and middle feeders together (a common request from families).

- Adams area: shift Peterson elementary’s feeder to Wilson Middle School to balance Adams’ enrollment ahead of a planned middle‑school opening; district noted transportation routing would change and staff anticipate two or three additional bus routes to serve relocated students.

Board members and staff discussed the difficulty of shifting boundaries in fast‑growing corridors where large future developments (named in board materials) will add thousands of homes. Trustees emphasized minimizing changes that split elementary cohorts and said staff should preserve “true feeder” patterns where possible. Staff confirmed a grandfathering provision: current high‑school students may remain at their existing high school until graduation, and staff will typically allow a student in the final year at a campus to finish there (without transportation provided) if a boundary change otherwise would move them.

Public engagement: The board directed staff to proceed with a communications and engagement plan that includes campus videos, social‑media posts, a dedicated web email for feedback, and principals as local points of contact. Staff said they will bring final recommendations back to the board after the community input period.

Next steps: Staff will publish maps and campus‑level materials, collect public feedback through the district’s onthegrow email and other channels, and return to the board at a subsequent meeting for final action. Any final boundary changes will be timed to openings of new campuses and transportation planning.