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Parents and teachers urge Wichita Falls ISD board to reverse West Foundation attendance-zone change
Summary
Multiple West Foundation teachers and parents urged the Wichita Falls ISD board to reconsider its Nov. 17 approval of 'option 2' rezoning that would shift students from West Foundation to other elementary schools, citing concerns about school size, student displacement and staff impacts.
Dozens of West Foundation parents, teachers and former staff urged the Wichita Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday to rescind or rethink a recently approved attendance-zone change they say will harm students and staff.
Teachers and parents said the district's plan—approved Nov. 17 as “option 2”—would move a significant share of West Foundation students to other campuses and leave the newer West campus well under capacity. "Introducing up to 700 new students to a new school compromises the quality of education and resources available to students," said Corey Kebala, a second-grade teacher at West Foundation, during the public-comment period. Kebala warned the change could reduce individual attention, strain special-education supports and prompt staff losses.
The appeal was echoed by parents. "Moving approximately 150 kids from West Foundation to McNeil from a school of a little over 400 kids to a school of 700 kids sounds very detrimental to their education," said Chelsea Streeter, a parent of two West Foundation students, describing worries about class sizes, anxiety and lost peer relationships. Kelly Marion, a longtime WFISD teacher, told trustees she believed Option 2 had not been presented to the public during earlier outreach and asked the board to reconsider the vote.
Speakers raised process and planning questions as well as practical impacts. Tommy McCullough urged the board to take a "fresh set of eyes" to the decision and said projected builders cited by the district do not plan near the proposed West Foundation zone in the next 10 years. "There are solutions that make sense," McCullough said, asking the board to avoid repeating disruptive rezoning cycles every few years.
The board listened but did not take action on rezoning at the meeting. Trustees closed public comment and moved to the regular agenda; administration acknowledged the feedback but did not announce an immediate plan to reverse the Nov. 17 decision. The public-comment speakers repeatedly requested a clearer explanation of the decision-making timeline and the staffing implications if West loses a substantial portion of its student population.
Background: Trustees briefly described the district's earlier outreach and a series of work sessions that informed the board's November vote; speakers argued that one of the options (Option 2) had not been widely shown when the district solicited public feedback. The board's procedural rules — read at the start of the meeting — limit real-time deliberation during public comment, so speakers' appeals were recorded but not debated on the floor.
The board has not scheduled a public reconsideration or final vote on attendance zones at the end of the meeting. Trustees moved instead to regular business items and a closed session later in the evening. Any next steps on rezoning, including possible reconsideration, were not announced by the meeting's end.
