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LISDboard, o cials look at districtwide rezoning
LISDhires diversity, equity, inclusion chief
BY TAYLOR GIRTMAN
Chief Facilities O cer Jimmy Disler said the exercise is not perfect but conceptually shows what could happen if the district goes down the path to rezoning. If the board moves forward, parameters and criteria will need to be set for a rezoning process, Disler said. “Our main goal was maximizing e ciency and use of our facilities,” Disler said. The rezoning exercise was based on the 2023-24 school year and rezoned about 10,000 students. But future growth could require additional rezoning in a few years. Further rezoning would move students in the Leander and Cedar Park areas south of their current school to ll open seats, particularly in the Steiner Ranch area. Portable building use was not considered in the plans because the goal is to use permanent facilities
to avoid burdening facilities, Disler said. Board member Sade Fashokun said she would like to see an exer- cise that includes portables. “If people are within 2 miles, they should be able to walk to school or ride their bikes to school as opposed to driving 5 miles,” Fashokun said. Board Member Aaron Johnson said there has not been a time during his time on the board where a whole-district rezoning scenario was looked at because the district was focused on growing. “That’s not true anymore. We need more in places and less in other places,” Johnson said. Board Member Elexis Grimes said this is a building block of a con- versation to decide where to push resources, where to build a STEM school and where to build a school of choice.
DeWayne Street BY TAYLOR GIRTMAN will be Leander ISD’s rst chief of diversity, equity and inclusion. The board of
Leander ISD o cials and board members discussed the possibility of a districtwide rezoning at the Dec. 16 board meeting. A rezoning scenario was presented to the board, but a formal rezoning process is not underway. Board members rst discussed rezoning the district at their Nov. 18 meeting following the failure to pass two of three November 2021 bonds. The Dec. 16 presentation showed what attendance zoning could look like if enrollment was balanced and facilities were maximized across the school district. “IF PEOPLE ARE WITHIN 2 MILES, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TOWALK TO SCHOOL OR RIDE THEIR BIKES TO SCHOOL AS OPPOSED TO DRIVING 5 MILES AWAY.” SADE FASHOKUN, BOARD MEMBER
DeWayne Street
trustees approved Street’s hire Dec. 16. He will begin Jan. 18 and lead the district’s rst diversity, equity and inclusion o ce. Street has worked as Round Rock ISD’s chief equity o cer since 2020. In a statement, Street said he looks forward to learning from all stake- holders and continuing his journey as a re ective practitioner. “When it comes to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, I have found this to be a very e ective approach and one that calls people in, not out,” Street said in a release.
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