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BOT Approves Elementary School Attendance Zones for 2010-11 The Hays CISD Board of Trustees on Monday unanimously approved an elementary school attendance zone recommendation by the Growth Impact Committee (GIC) for the 2010-11 school year. The new attendance zones will accommodate the opening of Carpenter Hill Elementary School on FM 967 across from the district’s Beacon Hill facility, and Ralph Pfluger Elementary School in the Shadow Creek subdivision. Willie Tenorio, who was sworn in earlier in the evening as the District 2 appointee, voted on the measure. Jonanna Mikulenka, representing the 28-member GIC, which comprises parents and members of the district communities, described the process and detailed the recommendation. A public hearing conducted prior to the meeting drew one comment. “All of the committee members took their jobs very seriously and we had many productive, spirited discussions,” she said. “As with any group of many diverse individuals, we did not agree on everything, but at the end of the meetings, we were able reach a consensus that we could all recommend and support that we felt would benefit the majority of the children with the least amount of impact on their environments.” Dr. Jeremy Lyon, Hays CISD Superintendent, thanked committee members in attendance for their work on the recommendation. “I was really impressed with the intentional listening that went on in the meetings and the public hearings,” he said. “The GIC demonstrated a sincere willingness to go the extra mile every time to listen to the community. You represented your community extremely well.” Mrs. Mikulenka outlined the proposal: Ralph Pfluger Elementary School. The primary function of this attendance zone is to relieve the “stressed” population at Science Hall and Tom Green elementary schools. The major boundaries of the attendance zone are south of Windy Hill Road, east of Dacy Lane west of FM 2001, with the southern boundary south of the Amberwood and Indian Paintbrush subdivisions. The Pfluger Elementary School attendance zone includes Amberwood and Indian Paintbrush. “This attendance zone will allow the Sunfield subdivision to grow without affecting the Tom Green Elementary population or causing crowding issues in the near future,” she said. Mrs. Mikulenka addressed recent concerns from parents of students in the dual language program at Science Hall Elementary, who live in Amberwood and Indian Paintbrush subdivision. “The students who are currently attending Science Hall in the dual language program, and their siblings, who live in the Amberwood or Indian Paintbrush communities, will be able to continue at Science Hall in the program due to existing contractual commitments made when the program was established,” she said. “The students will need to apply for a transfer annually, but will be provided transportation due to the existing contractual district obligations. The transportation caveats will not apply to new students entering the program, only existing students in the program." Carpenter Hill Elementary School. The primary function of this attendance zone is to relieve the stressed population at Elm Grove and Buda elementary schools, with consideration for the population at Negley Elementary School, she said. The proposed new attendance zone for Carpenter Hill is roughly all students and communities north of FM 967 and west of FM 1626. The southern boundary for the Elm Grove attendance zone will stop at the intersection of FM 1626 and FM 2770, she said. “The consensus was made to leave the Mountain City students at Negley Elementary, roughly 60 students, due to the actual number of affected students, proximity to the school, history of Mountain City students being ping-ponged back and forth from several campuses, and from public input in favor of keeping Mountain City at Negley,” she said. “It is important to note that not all public input was in favor of this, we received comments to the contrary, but they were much smaller in number.” The School Board proceeded with a vote on Monday, rather than considering the recommendation for a month because three formal public hearings and one informal hearing had been conducted, said Patti Wood, President of the School Board, and Board members were confident that the recommendation had received ample public input. |