LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock-Cooper ISD board members approved a new feeder system and attendance zones for the district, allowing middle school students to stay together through high school graduation.
The board voted on the proposal Wednesday night, which will take effect in the 2027-2028 school year. Starting then, students moving up from Laura Bush Middle School will attend Lubbock-Cooper High School, while students from Lubbock-Cooper Middle School will move to Liberty High School.
The decision came after hearing concerns from parents and staff members about the new attendance zones.
Feeder system aims to improve program sustainability
Superintendent Aaron Waldrip said the feeder system will improve program sustainability and provide unity across both high school campuses.
“Ultimately, we think the feeder system is going to provide the opportunity for families to have their kids go to school together through middle school and into high school without splitting those kids after 8th grade, which is going to provide additional unity and continue to build the cultures and the success at both of our high school campuses,” Waldrip said.
Conversations about a feeder system began in 2021 as the district prepared for a school bond. A professional demographer was hired to plan for a third middle school and sixth elementary school. When growth rates slowed and inflation rose, the district changed course.
The district now plans to use that money to build two new intermediate campuses to provide relief at elementary and middle schools.
Long-range committee addressed high school balance concerns
Waldrip says a long-range planning committee formed in January to address concerns about balance at the high school level, including program sustainability, student participation and family engagement.
The committee reviewed dozens of maps before releasing a proposal to families.
“But ultimately, the question kind of comes up, why are we doing it now? Why are we doing it? Why are we listening it right after school’s out? Well, part of that is, that’s when, that’s as soon as we can get it together. We also feel like there is some urgency with the imbalances we’re seeing at the high schools that the longer, the longer we wait, the more difficult it’s going to be to correct,” Waldrip said.
New attendance zones raise concerns about travel distances
Some students in the northwest corner of the district will have to travel southeast to Lubbock-Cooper Middle School under the new zones. One parent expressed concern about the geography of the new system.
“We have repeatedly heard that geography is difficult, okay? I totally agree, which is exactly why so many families are struggling to understand why some students will drive past a closer school to attend a further one,” a parent said.
Waldrip acknowledged that there will be increased travel time for some families, but it’s not a new issue for families in the district.
“We do believe that with the opening of Loop 88, that is going to help accommodate some of the travel distances. We also can point back to recent history When before Liberty High School was even built just a few years ago, all students in the district were traveling to the southeast portion of the district and it worked great for many years,” Waldrip said.
Grandfathering and flexibility for current students
Students who have already started high school are grandfathered in to their current school until graduation. Middle school students can now choose to stay where they began middle school or move to their new feeder school. There are also exceptions for transfer students and those with older siblings.
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