Waxahachie ISD outlines rezoning, transfers and transportation as new Waxahachie Creek High School advances toward 2027 opening

Waxahachie ISD administrators presented a rezoning proposal and operational plans for the district’s new Waxahachie Creek High School at a public town hall, saying the building (3,200-student maximum capacity) is scheduled to open in August of 2027 with freshmen and sophomores and will phase in upper grades over the following two school years.

District officials said the campus is under construction, with the district having broken ground in December and crews now pouring grade beams and completing underground utilities. The plan includes an on-campus agriscience facility, duplicated academic wings and specialized CTE spaces, and a non-varsity stadium and field-house–style athletics support. TxDOT has committed to build the first 1.6 miles of Spur 394, which will connect I‑35 to Howard Road and run along the front of the property the district described as roughly 45 acres on the high-school side.

Administrators said the rezoning proposal (presented as "high school plan 3") was developed to produce clearer elementary-to-junior-high-to-high-school feeder patterns and to avoid overloading one campus while leaving another underutilized. The proposal moves the Marvin elementary area from Waxahachie High School to Waxahachie Creek High School and smooths a small boundary around Dunaway (a change district staff said would affect about five students). Under the proposal, the district expects both high schools to operate well under the new building maximums: projected enrollments were presented in the range of about 1,700–1,950 at each campus over the planning horizon, with a functional concern threshold near 3,000 students per campus.

The district presented projected demographic measures it used in mapping: Waxahachie High at about 48.5% economically disadvantaged and Waxahachie Creek at about 54%, with a draft junior-high feeder (for a future Junior High No. 4) showing one feeder at roughly 68% economically disadvantaged. District leaders said they will plan additional on-campus supports for any junior high with higher economic-disadvantage concentrations (interventionists, social work support or additional administrators) and that Title I status would remain in place for campuses exceeding the 40% threshold.

Officials described transfer and grandfathering policies the district proposes to offer if the plan is adopted. Proposed transfer rules include a one-time transfer option for students zoned to Waxahachie Creek who need access to an academic program not offered at Creek (for example, a commercial culinary program). District staff said transfers for athletics would not be allowed. Transfers and grandfathering would require families to provide their own transportation. The district also described a limited grandfathering option: students who have already earned one credit toward graduation at Waxahachie High would be eligible to stay at Waxahachie High rather than move to Creek; that grandfathering would apply only to the individual student with the credit (not siblings) and would not apply to credits earned via summer school off the campus.

Transportation and logistics questions dominated public comment at the town hall. Parents asked whether siblings zoned to different campuses would require multiple buses or staggered schedules; district staff said the likely practical solution for the first years would be that the same bus would transport students and the district would work on transfer routing but that families should expect to provide their own transportation in many cases. Administrators also noted that Waxahachie Creek would not field varsity athletics in its first year; varsity competition would begin when UIL alignment and the campus grade structure allow (Creek would field varsity play beginning in 2028–29 under the scenario presented).

Board timeline and next steps: staff said additional rezoning conversations are scheduled (a meeting the coming Thursday at 10 a.m. and more meetings in August). The district intends to present the proposed zone recommendation to the board at an August meeting for consideration and possible approval so families are informed well before the school opens in 2027.

District staff emphasized the phased approach and that many operations details remain under development; staff asked the community to submit questions through a QR-code feedback form and said an FAQ document will be posted and updated on the district website.