ALLEN, Texas — Parents packed the Allen Performing Arts Center Thursday night as the district unveiled newly proposed attendance boundaries for elementary schools that it hopes will alleviate overcrowding and district spending.
Those parents, however, aren't too happy. Adjusting attendance zones means students will have to change schools.
For every student at George Anderson Elementary, it's a reality. Per newly adopted state requirements, the district must offer full-day pre-kindergarten for eligible four-year-olds.
Allen wants to turn Anderson into an early childhood campus entirely.
Meaning every student from kindergarten through sixth grade will have to move to Olson Elementary.
That includes Michelle Boren's 4th-grade son -- she was at the meeting Thursday night with other parents from the school to voice disapproval.
"We want to protect Anderson Elementary School," Boren said. "When you're talking about moving 400 kids to a new school -- there's going to be some division there, and it's heartbreaking.
The newly proposed map of attendance boundaries is below:
The district made it clear Thursday night it's making these changes to alleviate the district's overcrowding and be more efficient with tax dollars.
Officials told parents that Allen ISD's state funding has come to a head more or less, adding that the state is giving out more money to districts showing exponential growth and that Allen's is leveling off.
They also relayed to parents that they're paying more money per student at schools with less enrollment, roughly $10,000, versus a school near or at capacity, which sits at approximately $6,000.
The district also stressed Thursday night that overcrowding is more of a problem on the west side of its map and less on the east side.
That is shown below:
On the left, attendance zones in red face overcrowding, while those in green do not.
The district also showed a map of how many elementary students will be impacted by the proposed boundary changes.
That map is below:
The school most impacted is Anderson elementary, which will move roughly 406 students to Olson.
The next? Approximately 350 Rountree Elementary students will move to Story Elementary.
The district is repurposing Rountree Elementary for future non-instructional programming needs.
There is a method to Allen's madness -- officials say that they've been working on a map like this for years and that this is the 16th version of it.
However, parents like Boren aren't sold. She and others want the full-day pre-k to be divided amongst all elementary schools -- not designated to one campus.
"My son is either going to have to walk or be bused to a different school and be in a different environment than he's been in all these years," Boren said. "It's heartbreaking."
Family members related to the namesake of Anderson Elementary, George Anderson, were at Thursday's meeting too.
Anderson was a former coach and teacher within Allen ISD and is the first African-American to be named for a school.
Rachel Lee, who is related to Anderson through her aunt, told WFAA she wants the school to remain the way it is.
"They went about it the wrong way," Lee said. "When we found out about it, we were really upset. I don't think he would want it this way."
The proposed plan needs board approval and is expected to be voted on on Nov. 28.