Richardson ISD
Richardson ISD trustees didn’t officially vote Monday night, but in their discussion of K-6 versus 5th/6th facilities to address overcrowding at Lake Highlands elementary schools, each trustee expressed a preference for the traditional K-6 model and for keeping LH in alignment with the rest of RISD.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what the board will ultimately decide, though.
Over the last couple of weeks, a rising tide of parent opinion has tended toward adding classrooms onto White Rock Elementary, constructing a 5th/6th annex on White Rock Trail for WRE students, and/or pretty much any solution which will avoid the redrawing of boundaries for WRE homeowners. At a White Rock Valley neighborhood association meeting last week, residents urged LH trustees Justin Bono and Jean Bono, in attendance, to “go back to the drawing board,” despite the work of the Growth Reflector Committee to narrow multiple options down to just two.
A few things are clear today, on the eve of the bond election:
(1) No one likes the White Rock Trail/Walnut Hill site, now owned by RISD, for a full-size, K-6 elementary school.
(2) No one who owns a house in WRE wants to be re-boundaried to another school, and they don’t want their kids’ friends to be, either.
(3) Even if a majority of WRE families like the 5th/6th idea, families on the Forest Meadow Junior High side of town won’t go for it.
(4) Renewed discussion is emerging by groups of parents and on social media to reconsider a plan first proposed in January by a leadership group of WRE parents. That plan had two alternatives: build a two-story addition onto WRE to minimize loss of green space, or build a 5th/6th annex for WRE students. There is an RISD precedent for elementary schools in two buildings: the highly successful Brentfield has K-2 in one building and 3-6 in another.
Trustees said they are continuing to look for solutions, including additional land parcels to purchase for the building of new schools. Approximately $47.5 million has been set aside in the $437 million bond to address overcrowding in LH. Election Day is Saturday, May 7th.
