The Allen ISD School Board on Monday revised the processes for nominating school names for the district’s new elementary school and the upcoming proposal for changing school attendance zones.

Nominations for choosing the names for Elementary School 18, opening Fall 2017, will be open on Tuesday. Chief Information Officer Tim Carroll says that the Public Information Office will have a news release on Sept. 27 regarding the guidelines for nominations.

“We take nomination letters and emails,” Carroll said. “The names may include but are not limited to: living or deceased residents of Allen who have made notable contributions to Allen ISD or Allen, U.S. citizens who have made notable contributions to American society or geographic areas of interest.”

Nominations will be accepted from Sept. 27 to Oct. 28, and the chosen name may be announced on Nov. 28. Furthermore, Carroll says that good nominations give content on the nominee’s contributions to the city or society.

“It’s much more helpful for the community to write why they think this person should be honored,” Carroll said. “And one really good letter signed by a few is just as good as a letter signed by many people with little information.”

School attendance zone changes will be proposed to the board in October because of the new elementary school and to address school crowding and enrollment growth.

“This can sometimes be an emotional process because most people love attending the school in which they’re currently [at],” Assistant Superintendent for Student Leadership Robin Bullock said.

After the October proposal, the district will host two meetings for residents in November to explain the proposal and consult the public. They will both be at the Allen ISD Service Center on Nov. 3 and Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. and will cover the same material. The final recommendation will be presented at the January meeting.

“We will also put the proposal online after the meeting along with a community survey,” Bullock said. “We hope to conclude the process Jan. 23 so we can start notifying families and things in order for transportation.”

Amy Gnadt, the board’s secretary, and Allen ISD’s Science Instructional Specialist Cara Johnson were both recognized at the beginning of the board meeting. Gnadt earned the Master Trustee certification from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB)—the highest designation for TASB—and Johnson was a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

“This is a pretty prestigious award, so the fact that Allen has had three recipients [overall] is huge,” Johnson said. “This is not just my recognition but the whole school board and district, and this exemplifies what an awesome district we work for.”