The Plano Independent School District School Board has had a series of redistricting changes since 2009. In December, 2009 a plan to redistrict was brought up for consideration and in 2011, they brought back the discussion.

“The first of these two realignments occurred in 2009, when the district adjusted boundary anticipations of the opening of McMillen High School,” Plano School Board Member David Stolle said. “At the time, Plano East Senior High School was the largest of the three senior highs and demographer projections estimated that the Plano East student population would eventually grow to a point where the school would be overcrowded.”

In the 2011 redistricting, students from Schimelpfenig Middle School had the choice of which senior high school they would graduate from, reducing the future population for Plano West Senior High School.  The plan from 2009 would have increased West’s population over time to 3,400 students, a 50% increase.

“I believe this process, while painful, has established common-sense feeder patterns that will give stability to our three senior high schools,” Stolle said.

Starting in the 2013-14 school year students from Jasper High School, a feeder high school for Schimelpfenig, are now required to attend Plano West Senior High School. For parents, this caused many debates over whether this would affect their student’s academic success or chances of a sports team.

“I think the number of student increase will affect the rankings because there are more students applying,” senior Mandi Sarembock said. “I do not think it will affect me because colleges know that I go to Plano West, a competitive and big school, and they take that into account.”

Starting this school year there are more students in the hallways, especially in “A” building and some complain that they are having a hard time getting to class on time.

“The hallways are terribly packed and I dislike the people who stop in the middle of the hallway,” senior Chandler Morris said.

Getting into the right college is something that every student and parent worries about, and the new redistricting are making it more difficult to get into the top 10%.

“The increase in number of students will not affect the grade point average (GPA), but the rankings will be more competitive because there are more students,” registrar Anne Lehman said.

Plano athletics have always been well represented, but since there are more students trying out it is making it more competitive.

“There were a lot more kids trying out for sports, so it made it harder to make the team,” Sarembock said.

The redistricting has caused some problems for students, but the two plans were meant to solve some of them.

“Realignment has certainly affected many people,” Stolle said. “After coming through the process, however, I believe that the district and all of its schools are in a stronger position.”