With Legacy, Mansfield and Lake Ridge all exceeding student seat capacity, Mansfield ISD realigned district attendance zones in February 2023. Current sixth, eighth, eleventh or twelfth grade students affected by rezoning in the 2025-2026 school year may apply to stay at their current campus; applications are due Jan. 31.
Director of Student Services Tami Vardy led the growth and attendance zones committee, along with other district employees.
“Each campus within MISD is built with a specific student capacity in mind,” Dr. Vardy said. “When a campus is reaching capacity and other campuses have room for more students, residential campus boundary lines may be redrawn to accommodate the student population in the residential zone.”
Each Mansfield ISD high school seats 2,500 students. In the 2022-2023 school year, 2,545 students enrolled at Legacy while Timberview and Summit each housed almost 600 open seats. Legacy parent Marla Wilkerson contributed to the rezoning efforts as a part of the growth committee.
“Overall, rezoning will ensure that all MISD students have the opportunity to learn in an environment that is more equitable in cultural diversity and in the annual campus enrollment,” Ms. Wilkerson said. “Also, it will allow for an ISD that is better prepared to serve the anticipated growth of the greater Mansfield area.”
When meeting, the growth and attendance zones committee’s main goal was to move as few students as few times as possible. They looked at identifying geographic areas to be served by each campus relieving current and/or projected overcrowding and contributing to stability over time.
“The students were at the center of each conversation, especially Vision 2030,” Ms. Wilkerson said. “With that, campus scorecards and enrollment were discussed first, especially the current and anticipated 10-year growth for each HS feeder pattern. Overcrowding has become a real problem that we all agreed was unfair to students, teachers and administrators.”
The committee took into account current and near-future growth patterns, transportation issues, neighborhoods and natural and man-made barriers. MISD projected Legacy to have 2,642 students enrolled by the 2025-2026 school year with the current attendance zones- meaning that there would be 142 more students than capacity allows for.
“Change is not easy, but in my opinion, these changes will ensure that MISD remains a premiere district for decades to come,” Ms. Wilkerson said.
The option of building another high school is not on the table because MISD has enough seats for everyone in the district, and rezoning the attendance zones intends to help balance the enrollment numbers. For a new high school to be considered, the district would need to put out a bond program, get community votes to pass the bond and begin the three to four-year building process.
“A new high school would be a multi-year project and could provide an additional cost to taxpayers,” Dr. Vardy said. “The district does its due diligence to ensure all facilities are being utilized in an efficient manner and rezoning is considered after all other options are exhausted.”
Siblings of students transferring who wish to attend the same campus as a student exercising this option must complete the sibling option form. These applications opened Dec. 1 and will close Jan. 31, 2025.
“In my opinion, rezoning will help keep class sizes smaller which in turn will promote the stellar instructional setting MISD provides to all students,” Dr. Vardy said. “As we try to move students the fewest number of times, we provide junior, senior, eighth grade and sixth grade options to help offset any negative consequences.”
