To alleviate an overcrowded Klein Oak, the district approved a plan to rezone neighborhoods in the Klein, Klein Collins, and Klein Oak attendance zones that will take effect the next school year.
According to associate principal Steve Matheson, the population in the Klein Oak attendance zone has become more dense. The district planned to relocate students to less crowded campuses.
“They have about 4,000 students and only have room for 3,700,” Matheson said. “Klein High’s attendance is a little down so they’re going to [relocate] 400 to 500 students. We’re getting [about] 150 to 250 students.”
Possible changes for the upcoming school year may include a fourth lunch, longer passing periods and the return of T-buildings. According to Matheson, the administration has a tentative plan for next year.
“We hope that we can pick up some more teachers with the enlarged enrollment,” Matheson said. “If we can add staff, we can keep our class sizes pretty consistent.”
According to principal Randy Kirk, the extra teachers may not be an issue.
“I don’t think we will [notice the extra students],” Kirk said. “The way we do the master schedule is based on the [student –teacher] ratio [so] there might only be one extra student per class.”
There are currently 3,360 students enrolled at Klein Collins. The district predicts enrollment to grow next year to 3,454 students. Junior Thyrza Falcon said she cannot believe the school has room to accommodate more students.
“There are certain parts of the school I try to avoid,” Falcon said. “It ticks me off when I’m trying to get to class and there’s people blocking my way because they’re socializing.”
In previous years, German teacher Monika Buffington’s classes were relatively small. She said that she hopes the rezoning will bring more students to the program.
“Klein Oak has a very strong German program,” Buffington said. “They have more than one teacher and their classes are much larger than the ones here. When I first started out, I had [about] 70 students, now I’m up to 130. I think if we can get the excitement going and have more presence, the German program will [continue] to grow.”
Matheson said each extracurricular activity could potentially benefit from the additional students. He continued that rezoning would not affect the academic accountability. Math department head Melissa Williamson shares a similar view with Matheson.
“They should be just as strong and just as good math students,” Williamson said. “They’re still coming from a Klein school with the same curriculum.”
According to the Klein ISD website, current Klein Oak students scheduled to be rezoned may can elect to stay if they have lettered in a University Interscholastic League activity, are on a varsity sport and provide their own transportation. A policy was added to allow simultaneous siblings to remain at the same school.
The new school boundaries will include Gosling Pines, Spring Oaks, Fox Hollow and the Park at Klein subdivisions.