Hays CISD To Create New High School Attendance Zones

“We encourage everyone who has an opinion to reach out to the committee by using the special ‘Zone Talk’ button on the committee’s webpage or attending one of two public forums,” said Savoy.

The process is underway to create new high school attendance zones in Hays CISD to accommodate the opening of the district’s third high school next year. Johnson High School will open in August 2019 and needs an attendance zone.

In August, the Board of Trustees voted to empanel a committee of 35 citizens to review proposed maps, receive public input, and create a recommendation that will be presented to the Board for a vote in either November or December of this year.

This committee met for the first time Thursday, September 27, 2018.

“Board policy requires the district administration to create at least two starting-point maps for consideration by the citizen committee,” said Hays CISD Chief Communication Officer Tim Savoy. “The process is designed to ensure that there is no predetermined map and that the final result is very much the result of a robust discussion by and among educators, parents, students, and community members. We encourage everyone who has an opinion to reach out to the committee by using the special ‘Zone Talk’ button on the committee’s webpage or attending one of two public forums. People can also follow along as the process progresses, view the prevailing draft maps, and see all of the materials presented to the committee on the committee webpage.”

The committee webpage is www.hayscisd.net/rezone.

Hays CISD established attendance zones for schools to:

1. Maintain the neighborhood school concept;
2. Prevent, reduce, and eliminate overcrowding;
3. Allow for future growth;
4. Keep distances traveled by students as short as possible;
5. Minimize the need for student transportation;
6. Allow campuses to house students safely and provide adequate services to all students.

The attendance zone map is just one of several processes underway to open Johnson High School. The district is also in the process of searching for a campus principal and other key staff members. The plan to transition students to the new campus has already been determined and published online at: www.hayscisd.net/jhsopen.

Johnson High School is named after the district’s first superintendent and his wife, Moe and Gene Johnson, who were both instrumental in establishing a strong foundation and love of education in the Hays CISD community.