Several parents in the Denton school district showed support this week for a modified version of the proposed elementary attendance boundaries for the 2010-11 school year.

The amended proposal would allow their children to stay at their current elementary and avoid the possibility of being affected by rezoning multiple times in a three- to five-year period.

District officials had two meetings this week at Providence Elementary School to present proposed boundaries for its 21st elementary school, scheduled to open in the Cross Oaks Ranch development along the U.S. Highway 380 Corridor. The school is scheduled to open for 2010-11 and one campus, Providence Elementary, will be impacted by the new facility.

In the original proposal, Gene Holloway, district director of transportation, projected that, depending on the economy and the housing market, children living east of the new campus and currently proposed to attend the Cross Oaks Ranch campus could possibly be affected by rezoning again within the next three to five years. Tuesday, Holloway said that once Cross Oaks Ranch reaches build-out, the new campus would completely be a “neighborhood school because of its attendance density.”

That concerned parents from Emerald Sound, a subdivision that could possibly be rezoned again once Cross Oaks Ranch reaches capacity. Because of that concern, district officials presented to parents at the second hearing an option that would allow the 50 to 60 students living in Emerald Sound to stay at Providence Elementary and avoid having to change schools multiple times within a 5-year span.

“I’m pleased as punch at the second option. I’m pleased that they gave us that option to look at,” said Emerald Sound resident Rebekha Thompson.

Thompson, whose two children will start kindergarten and second grade next year, and who attended both public hearings, said she hopes her and her neighbors’ support of a modified option will impact how the school board votes on the proposed zones.

Holloway said the initial scenario of proposing boundaries focuses on demographics and geography, but it’s also important to listen to concerns of families and communities.

“One of the objectives of Denton ISD rezoning is to be the least disruptive as possible,” he said.

Under the original proposal, students attending the new elementary would be those living in the area south of U.S. 380 west to Lincoln Park, east and south of Lincoln Park on a line west following the Elm Fork Trinity Watershed southwest to Lewisville Lake. Under the modified plan, the new school would serve students living in the area south of U.S. 380 west to 380 and Naylor Road and south on a line east of Naylor Road to Denton ISD’s southern boundary with Little Elm ISD.

Both plans are preliminary, Holloway said, and depending on predicted growth, the economy and development, in about five years there may be a chance that students of Emerald Sound are rezoned to a campus closer to their homes.

Emerald Sound mother Mona Pickens said she thought the original proposal “was a done deal.” She said while moving to a new campus didn’t necessarily seem bad, it did concern her when neighbors who attended Tuesday’s meeting told her that her child could possibly be rezoned twice within five years. It led her to attend the second meeting for more information, she said.

“I didn’t like it,” Pickens said. “Option One in itself would be fine if that was the one and only move, but when I found out there would be another move, that’s when I was concerned.”

Keith Palmer, another neighbor, said he was content with the idea of his children attending the Cross Oaks Ranch campus. It would be closer to home, he said, but learning of multiple rezonings was troubling.

“The whole deal of bumping [them] twice seemed a bit silly,” Palmer said. “Having them stay here [at Providence] instead of just moving them around just makes sense.”

Under Option Two, Holloway said, the Elementary No. 21 zone would open with 357 students, a smaller enrollment but additional room for future growth, while Providence Elementary would have an enrollment of 514, which is still manageable and not over capacity.

Holloway said both plans and all concerns and comments collected from the two meetings were documented and will be presented to the Denton school board in a workshop presentation during its regular meeting Tuesday. Parents will also have the opportunity to voice their concerns before the board in public forum.

Holloway said the board could make a decision on the boundaries by June 9.

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