FORNEY, Texas — The Forney Independent School District's Board of Trustees have approved the purchase of 230 acres northwest of Criswell Elementary and the acceptance of two donated properties for future elementary campuses.
FORNEY, Texas — The Forney Independent School District's Board of Trustees have approved the purchase of 230 acres northwest of Criswell Elementary and the acceptance of two donated properties for future elementary campuses.
In their announcement this morning, Forney ISD officials say increased revenue brought on by fast growth in the district, coupled with the district's conservative financial management, puts Forney ISD in a position to potentially build new schools in the future — well ahead of a nine-year moratorium on building new campuses the district announced in 2017.
In their action on Monday night, the board approved the acceptance of two property donations — 16.364 acres in Devonshire and 13.94 acres in Gateway Parks. Both properties were donated by the developers and are slated for future elementary sites.
The board also approved the purchase of 230 acres northwest of Criswell Elementary, west of Ranch Road, and north of Farm-to-Market (FM) 740, which is adjacent 35 acres of land already owned by the district.
The district hasn't closed on the 230 acres so a proposed purchase price was not available at the time of press, Kristin Zastoupil, Forney ISD Executive Director of Marketing & Communications, told inForney.com.
Zastoupil says the large area will provide for multiple facilities in the future which will be determined at a later date through closely monitoring growth and the district's needs.
Demographers had previously projected Forney ISD would have 10,800 students by the end of October 2018, but instead, Forney ISD surpassed that mark on the third day of school, according to the district, and, as of January 14, 2019, enrollment reached 11,240 students.
To combat the immediate growth needs, the district is finalizing construction on previously-announced expansions at Rhea and Smith Elementary campuses, namely, construction of a third wing. These renovations will accommodate the 5th-6th grade intermediary campus model and will bring an additional 850 seats when they reopen next school year.
The district also announced plans to add targeted capacity in high-growth areas by adding 10 classrooms each to Henderson, Crosby, Blackburn, and Lewis Elementaries. Construction on these additions will begin this summer, according to the district.
“We added 933 students from 2017 to 2018, growing at almost 10% this past year,” Chief of Information and Innovation Kim Morisak said. “Our current plans include the opening of FLA this past fall, and the additions to Rhea and Smith that will be completed this summer, we’ll be renovating campuses in the short-term, and looking to build long-term to keep up with the fast growth.”
The FLA, or Forney Learning Academy, centralized the district's Pre-K program and added 300 seats for enrollment.
"The expansions and remodeling are a 40% savings over building a new elementary campus and target multiple high growth areas across the district," stated the district.
“We’re grateful for our new partnerships with and land donations from Devonshire and Gateway Parks,” stated Forney ISD Superintendent Dr. Justin Terry. “The purchase of the 230 acre tract ensures the district can meet future fast-growth needs.”
According to the district's most recent demographic report, the district anticipates a 2023-24 enrollment of approximately 14,117 students and a 2028-29 enrollment of approximately 17,387 students.
These estimates come as new home starts and closes within the district's boundaries are expected exceed more than 1,000 homes for the first time annually, according to the report. And, nearly 46 percent of all district home sales are of new homes.
The district housing overview includes 1,200 lots currently available to build on, groundwork currently underway on another 3,400 lots, and 21,000 lots planned for future development.
Currently, Lewis and Smith Elementary zones account for approximately 48 percent of all home sales in the district and Smith, Johnson, and Lewis Elementary zones account for approximately 60 percent of all future planned lots, according to the report.
Fall 2018 Demographers Report - Forney ISD by inForney.com on Scribd
