Northwest ISD weighs changes to its high school boundary plan after parents push back, with a trustee vote set for Nov. 9

Northwest ISD may revise its proposed high school attendance zones after parents spoke out at a community meeting, and the district hopes to tell families about any changes by Nov. 2, a district spokesperson told the Fort Worth Report this week. Trustees are scheduled to vote on the boundaries Nov. 9.

The rezoning is meant to fill Davis High School, the district's fourth comprehensive high school, which opens in August 2027 with freshmen and sophomores and adds a grade in each of the next two years. Northwest ISD lists Fort Worth among the cities it serves, along with Haslet, Justin, Roanoke, Trophy Club and other towns in Denton, Tarrant and Wise counties.

Why the lines are moving

Each of the district's high schools is built for 3,200 students. According to the district, Eaton High School is already over that mark and stands to gain the most relief from Davis. District projections cited by the Report show Eaton would have nearly 3,400 students next school year without the new campus, with Northwest High and Byron Nelson each above 3,100.

Davis is expected to open with about 996 students.

The proposed map creates a Davis zone and shifts parts of the existing Northwest, Eaton and Byron Nelson zones. District officials said they drew the lines from enrollment projections, housing density and expected growth, and tried to keep any student from being rezoned more than once in high school.

What families raised

At an Oct. 20 meeting at Eaton, parents said the plan would split friend groups that had already been divided when middle school boundaries changed last year, and would send some teenagers onto U.S. 287 instead of back roads.

A Haslet parent said her neighborhood sits about 3 miles from Eaton but would be assigned to Davis, a drive she estimated at 30 minutes or more.

Others questioned the transfer rules. Under the district's plan, students rezoned between the three existing high schools as rising sophomores, juniors or seniors may stay at their current school if they keep good attendance and behavior, without district bus service.

Students zoned to Davis generally must attend, with exceptions for those in a campus academy, staff transfers and students whose older sibling will be a junior at their current high school.

Superintendent Mark Foust acknowledged the traffic concerns but said the district is growing faster than the roads, and that Davis needs its assigned students to offer the same programs as other campuses. He said he could not promise changes, though delaying moves for a few neighborhoods on the district's edge might be possible.

Davis will have a marching band and academic programs comparable to the other schools, officials said. In its first year, team sports will play at the junior varsity level, while individual sports will compete at varsity.

Sources

fortworthreport.org

nisdtx.org

nisdtx.org