Denton school board members this week unanimously approved a modified version of a proposed elementary attendance boundary for the 2010-11 school year.

The boundary could allow some children to avoid being rezoned multiple times in a three- to five-year period and remain at their current elementary school.

In May, school officials met twice with parents in the Providence Elementary School attendance zone about rezoning the area to make room for the district’s 21st elementary school.

That school is scheduled to open in the Cross Oaks Ranch development along the U.S. Highway 380 Corridor for the 2010-11 year.

At the first meeting, district officials told parents that students living in an eastern region of the proposed plan could be rezoned twice in five years, depending on the economy and housing market.

Gene Holloway, the school district’s transportation director, at the time told parents that once the Cross Oaks Ranch development is complete, the new campus would completely be a “neighborhood school because of its attendance density.”

Parents living in the proposal’s eastern region were concerned with the option they were given and asked the district for other ideas.

Within two days, district planners presented parents with a modified option that would allow the nearly 60 students living in the eastern region of the first proposed plan to remain at Providence Elementary. The board approved that plan Tuesday.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Julia Kappel, a mother who lives in Emerald Sound, a subdivision located in the eastern region of the original proposed plan.

Kappel, who attended both meetings on the proposed boundary, expressed her support of the second option at a May 26 meeting. She asked trustees to consider how attached students are to the elementary schools they attend when making a decision to rezone their area.

“Our students are attached there. The parents are attached there,” Kappel said. “If there really isn’t a problem with letting us stay, I would like you to consider letting us stay there.”

Brett King, the father of two elementary-aged children and a resident of Cross Oaks Ranch, voiced support for that option during Tuesday’s meeting.

King owns property in Emerald Sound and is planning to build a home and move there soon.

He said this option “seemed to satisfy all the concern of parents.” He called the board’s decision “a win” that minimized the effect of rezoning on his and future neighbors’ children.

School board President Jim Alexander said that based on residents’ comments the process in rezoning attendance boundaries for the 2010-11 year seemed to work well.

“Our staff has done a pretty good job of listening to our constituents, and that makes it easier for us when it’s well-developed already,” he said.

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com .

IN OTHER ACTION

Also on Tuesday, the Denton school board:

* Heard a presentation of the preliminary budget for the 2009-10 year showing a $1.79 million deficit, which district officials attributed to a projected drop in property values. Trustees discussed how projections in the preliminary budget could be impacted this week by what is learned from legislative decisions. Trustees held a public hearing on the issue and no one came forward. Debbie Monschke, the district’s executive director of budget and finance, said the district will receive certified property values next month. The budget for the fiscal year must be approved by June 30.

* Hired Robert E. Bostic, principal at the Carrollton-Farmers Branch district’s Rainwater Elementary School, as its new district director of instructional technology. He starts June 22, replacing Holly Davis, who resigned this year for another job. Bostic, 39, who was named the 2008 Administrator of the Year by the Texas Computer Education Association, launched a competitive robotics league for elementary and middle school students in his district in 2005.

* Discussed and heard reports on the Student Code of Conduct and Student Handbook for the 2009-10 year, the Virginia Gallian Child Development Center, legislative updates, the Texas Association of School Board advocacy resolutions and the district’s social services program.