North Texas just keeps expanding outward in every direction. Developers are grabbing up acreage and putting new housing and businesses on unused land. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the formerly rural Northwest Independent School District purchased land for three more schools to serve the growing population.

At an Oct. 23 board meeting, district trustees approved the $6.7 billion purchase of a 148-acre site in Northlake. The location includes space for a middle school, high school, and an athletic stadium.

Hillwood Properties included a gift of property for an elementary school, to be included within their new Pecan Square development. The Thompson family also donated a second elementary site for the Harvest development, which should begin construction next year.

The district approved a purchase of 155 acres earlier this year on the western edge of Haslet. That purchase was for an elementary, middle, and high school in the Le Tara development.

Northwest ISD has seen a dramatic increase in population, with the number of students nearly doubling in a little over a decade. In 2006, Northwest ISD had 11,824 students; it educates more than 23,000 today. 

The Northwest ISD spans 234 square miles in Tarrant, Denton, and Wise counties. Some of the cities zoned to the district include fast-growing towns like Northlake, Haslet, Roanoke, Justin, Westlake, and Trophy Club. The far-reaching ISD even services small pockets of Fort Worth, Southlake, and Keller.