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Crowley ISD covers parts of south Fort Worth and south Tarrant County. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
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A new middle school is in the works for Crowley ISD.

The school district recently pushed for the rezoning of four tracts it has owned since November 2007. The property at 10300, 10320, 10350 and 10370 West Cleburne Road in the Panther Heights neighborhood was unzoned until Fort Worth zoning commissioners approved changing the property to a community facilities designation at their Aug. 14 meeting.

Community facilities districts allow for the building of schools, colleges, recreation facilities and other public facilities.

A city staff report indicated Crowley ISD intends to build the district’s fifth middle school at the property. The commission unanimously approved the rezoning.

“As this community grows, as CISD grows, as that area around it grows, this area needs more schools. It needs another middle school,” Commissioner Broderick Williams said. Williams represents District 6, where the majority of Crowley ISD is located.

Philip C. Varughese, a team leader at civil engineering and architecture firm Teague Nall and Perkins, spoke on behalf of Crowley ISD. He said the school district is still in the planning phases of the school, but has already met with city staff in terms of the layout of the site.

District officials are planning nearby road improvements and new sidewalks near the proposed school.

Varughese said the development represents the next phase of the district’s bond program. Last year, residents of the school district approved a $948.2 million bond package that calls for the construction of seven new schools, including three elementary schools and one middle school.

The school district continues to experience growth in tandem with the area’s population boom. In 2017, the school district reported enrollment at 15,310. Earlier this year, the school district reported an enrollment of 17,036 students. 

Aggressive projections for enrollment numbers show the school district could have 24,632 students in 2032.

The district’s fifth middle school will be around a mile from both Summer Creek Middle School and North Crowley High School.

Ismael M. Belkoura is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.