Excerpts from:

PETITION FOR DETACHMENT OF TERRITORY FROM KATY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

AND ANNEXATION TO SPRING BRANCH INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
We, the undersigned Petitioners, who constitute a majority of the registered voters residing in
the following described territory:
Thornwood Section II and Thornwood Section III, City of Houston, Harris County, Texas 77079,
with metes and bounds of the territory described in Exhibit 2 of this Petition, (hereinafter
Thornwood)
Respectfully petition for the detachment of the territory named above from Katy Independent
School District (hereinafter, Katy ISD) and the annexation to Spring Branch Independent School
District (hereinafter, Spring Branch ISD), which is contiguous.
SUMMARY
This petition for detachment and annexation should be granted as a matter of law because the
Thornwood Petitioners have complied with the required elements of The Texas Education Code
while also demonstrating that the proposed detachment will be economically, educationally and
socially beneficial to most of the students affected. Specifically:

The petition requesting detachment and annexation has been signed by a majority of the

registered voters residing in the territory to be detached and annexed.

The Thornwood subdivision would be restored to the one neighborhood its founders had

intended from inception, rather than an arbitrarily bifurcated neighborhood split between some
residents zoned to Spring Branch ISD and some to Katy ISD.

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Thornwoods special needs children would no longer have to face the essentially

unbearable challenges complicated by extraordinary commuting times and distances, multiple

times each day.

Annexation to Spring Branch ISD would result in shorter commute times enhancing

adequate sleep and contributing to improved health and academic performance.

Shorter commute times resulting from attachment to Spring Branch ISD would reduce the

impacts of social isolation, unnecessary stress from leaving work early or arriving late, and the
related disincentives for participation in extra-curricular activities.

Removing these challenges would also make it unnecessary for Thornwood parents to

seek uncertain transfers and costly relocations to attend Spring Branch ISD schools nearby.

Detaching Thornwood Sections 2 and 3, which comprise only 140 homes, would reduce

the enormous territory of Katy ISD by less than two tenths of one percent, a nearly imperceptible
reduction.
LEGAL BASIS AND AUTHORITY
Title 2 of the Texas Education Code, (hereinafter the Code) in Subtitle C, Chapter 13, Subchapter
B, Section 13.051 Detachment and Annexation serves as the legal basis and authority for this
Petition.
The following interests are to be considered at the hearings:
At the hearing, each board of trustees shall consider the educational interests of the current
students residing or future students expected to reside in the affected territory and in the
affected districts and the social, economic, and educational effects of the proposed boundary.

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FINDINGS OF FACT
1) A majority of registered voters residing in the Thornwood territory, sixty two percent
(62%), signed this Petition favoring and requesting detachment from Katy ISD and
attachment to Spring Branch ISD.
2)
3) Katy ISD comprises approximately 181 square miles. Thornwood Sections 2 and 3 comprise
0.061 square miles. The net resulting area of Katy ISD after detachment would be
approximately 180.94 square miles. Detaching Thornwood Sections 2 and 3, which
comprise only 140 homes, would reduce the enormous territory of Katy ISD by less than
two tenths of one percent, a nearly imperceptible reduction.
THE FOLLOWING FINDINGS OF FACT RELATE TO THE: educational interests of the current
students residing or future students expected to reside in the affected territory and in the
affected districts and the social, economic, and educational effects of the proposed boundary
change.
4) The entire Thornwood subdivision, located just off of Memorial Drive and Eldridge Parkway
along the Memorial corridor in west Houston, and under a common Home Owners
Association with a common set of bylaws, uniquely comprises Sections zoned to two
different school districts: Sections 1 and 4 are zoned to Spring Branch ISD schools within
one to two miles of applicable schools, and Sections 2 and 3, zoned to Katy ISD, as far as
roughly 10 to 13 miles to applicable schools.
5) Thornwood children (early childhood) with special needs can access special education
programs in Spring Branch ISD within two (2) miles from home and a short commute of
fewer than 10 minutes, in contrast to as much as 13.5 miles from home to Katy ISD and
commutes of over an hour. Hardships are exacerbated by multiple daily round trip
commuting, whether provided by parents who drive their children to the special education
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programs, or by extensive bus commutes. For a three year old child with autism, a ninety
minute bus ride is essentially unbearable.
6) The average time by bus or car for students traveling to Spring Branch ISD is significantly
less than that for Thornwood students traveling to Katy ISD. Shorter commute times
allowing for adequate sleep has been shown to contribute to improved health and
academic performance.
7) Spring Branch ISD is under capacity in the applicable schools and will accommodate the
new students from Thornwood. For example, Spring Branch ISD Nottingham Elementary
School lost approximately 150 students during mid-school year 2013-2014. Current
transfer lists indicate that space is available at Spring Forest Middle School and Stratford
High School. Attachment of the Thornwood territory to Spring Branch ISD would help to
fill classrooms.
8) The physical geographic gap between Thornwood and Katy ISD poses practical,
educational and social limitations for participation by students in after school and
weekend activities. Because of the limitations, some parents have chosen to move from
Thornwood Sections 2 and 3 to Thornwood Sections 1 and 4 to be zoned to Spring Branch
ISD. Others have chosen to apply for transfer into Spring Branch ISD without any certainty
of acceptance from year to year, and without guaranteed continuance during the year.
9) Katy ISD is experiencing phenomenal growth, and over capacity demands, stretching
resources and services to limits, and necessitating significant bond debt to address related
challenges.

ANALYSIS
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The Thornwood community was intended by its founders to function as residents of a common
home owners association. In fact, the charter for the four stages of Thornwoods development
unites all of the residents under a single umbrella HOA. In addition to sharing the same HOA, the
Thornwood community residents participate on one swim team, the Thornwood Sharks, for
example, among other singular community groups.
Yet, the existing school zoning of the Thornwood community arbitrarily splits the community into
segments for Spring Branch ISD and Katy ISD. Also arbitrarily, the Spring Branch ISD district line
currently zigzags and extends past Petitioners neighborhood (on the corner of Eldridge and
Memorial on the South side of Memorial) and continues westerly along Memorial Drive, ending
at Memorial Mews, a Street lining the west edge of the Territory, and encompassing two town
home complexes North of Memorial Drive.
The arbitrary divisions existing along school zoning lines translate into barriers, essentially
limiting Petitioners participation and engagement in school related activities, highly relevant
sports activities, theater productions, and other social functions and opportunities. Petitioners
are extremely disconnected from the Katy community due to distance. The Katy ISD Middle and
High Schools that Petitioners are zoned to are extremely far from the Petitioners homes, while
Spring Branch ISD schools are very close in proximity.
For illustration, consider that sports events and games are typically scheduled between 5 and 7
PM on weekdays, and it takes an average commute time of one hour to get there from
Thornwood. If parents have to travel from work leaving at 5 PM, often times they will not be
able to make it to the game.
Similarly, afternoon practice schedules place parents under high stress to arrive on time, as
coaches must remain with Junior High students until their parents arrive to pick them up. In some
instances, afternoon practices would require parents to leave work early, which can limit
participation by students. In addition, early morning practices increase commute times to work.
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After-school tutoring could also require a parent to leave work early on a regular basis, thus
limiting participation or adding unnecessary strains for parents at work. If the schools were
closer, arranging transportation home wouldnt be such a hardship.
Moreover, because parents and children are commuting to schools quite far away from home,
there are many variables that can exacerbate commute times, such as traffic, accidents,
construction in our developing area, and weather, for example. This means that parents could
have to allow themselves an extra 10 to 15 minutes beyond the normal expected commute time
to ensure they arrive on time.
These same challenges and problems would arguably be compounded for families and children
with special needs who are already coping with their disabilities.
Lack of sleep due to long morning commute times negatively impacts Thornwood students
commuting to Katy ISD. For example, research cited earlier in this petition, shows that
adolescents often suffer from a decline in academic performance; they have an increased risk of
being overweight or suffering from depression; and they are more likely to be involved in auto
accidents. Annexation to SBISD would significantly increase available sleep time for junior high
and high school students due to shorter commute times. Junior high school students commuting
by bus would typically have an additional 1 hour and 30 minutes of sleep time. Junior high school
students commuting by car would have an additional 1 hour and 20 minutes of sleep time. High
school students commuting by bus would have an additional 20 minutes of sleep time. High
school students commuting by car would have an additional 45 minutes of sleep time.
If children miss the bus for any reason, consider that parents are left with attempting to chase
the buses down to catch them before their last stop or otherwise driving out to the schools.
Because of the considerable growth within the Katy ISD schools, bus routes and times appear to
be growing more complex and time consuming. For parents, unexpected drives out to Katy ISD
schools can pose hardships for those trying to get to work on time.
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Thornwood families are deeply connected to the Memorial Area and feel a strong sense of
community here. Their children attend local churches, play in local sports associations (MDUMC,
Kingdom Basketball, SBMSA and MALL Ball), and attend local extra-curricular activities with
Spring Branch ISD children. Their Katy ISD school friends participate in activities in the Katy area,
thus contributing to a disconnected sense of community. Additionally, when children participate
in community sports near their homes, such as Memorial Ashford Little League, the children are
in the position of not knowing their teammates, while others on the team know each other from
local Spring Branch ISD schools.
There can also be countless times over the years when children find it difficult because their
friends from school in Katy ISD live so far away. Running children back and forth to friends
houses in Katy to play would likely not be an option in many instances.
Consequently, some neighbors in Thornwood have placed their homes on the market, reluctantly
moving their families. Some parents are driven to choose this option rather than be faced with
the many challenges associated with attending KATY ISD junior high and high schools at such
distances from the Thornwood neighborhood. Annexation to Spring Branch ISD will resolve these
most important social isolation issues facing Thornwood children attending Katy ISD schools.
Some parents in Thornwood are gambling on attending Spring Branch ISD schools through an out
of district transfer. This solution is not permanent and thus remains a cause of stress and
uncertainty for families. Approved transfers are good for only one scholastic year and can be
revoked at any time due to a set of established criteria including space issues. Each school year,
parents are required to reapply and worry each year if there will be space for their children in
Spring Branch ISD.
Moreover, introducing new students to the affected Spring Branch ISD schools, which are
currently under-capacity, would not only fill seats, but would also increase funding, community
involvement and volunteer participation. In contrast, the affected Katy ISD schools facing
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enrollment growth pains would receive some relief because of the departing students. The likely
result would also include improved educational experiences for both districts.

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