Tanglewood’s future is in good hands

Tanglewood Elementary is not the only overcrowded school in Fort Worth.

But it is one of several in a booming city, and its parents are among the most vocal for relief.

Fort Worth school leaders laid out three potential solutions Wednesday for Tanglewood’s growing enrollment, set to pass 1,000 soon on a half-century-old campus built for less than 600.

Leaders will decide by August whether to split off a new $28 million to $30 million Tanglewood primary or intermediate school west of South Hulen Street, build a new elementary school with a separate attendance zone in Riverhills west of Hulen, or add an $11 million to $13 million west-wing expansion at the current campus.

The expansion would address crowding, but Superintendent Kent Scribner sees a new school down the line.

Officials considered and discarded the idea of converting historic Alice Carlson Elementary, currently an applied-learning campus, for overflow. It’s small and preservation restrictions limit modifications.

Neighborhood debates over school growth and attendance zones can get rancorous.

This one definitely has. But officials have presented reasonable options to district parents and stakeholders.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Tanglewood’s future is in good hands."