Plano school leaders on Tuesday embraced the idea of creating a magnet high school.

They decided to study the possibility of repurposing Williams High School in east Plano from a ninth- and 10th-grade campus into the district's first four-year magnet school.

"An academy doesn't mean we do things better. It means we do things differently," said Superintendent Doug Otto. "That's what is going to make it unique."

Tuesday night's school board meeting had been billed as a chance for trustees to move toward settling the district's proposed school attendance zone changes, which have sparked a heated debate in Plano. Boundaries are changing primarily because of students moving to the district's east side and schools being built in that area.

The board meeting, normally attended by only a few people, attracted hundreds of parents. Before trustees vote on the new boundaries, the district will host several hearings, possibly starting in early December.

Details about the proposed magnet school remain undecided. But students across the district could apply to the school, which could offer in-depth courses in subjects such as medicine and technology. Trustees won't vote on the school until at least December. The school would open for the 2012-13 school year.

The addition of a magnet school would require new boundaries districtwide. The proposed boundaries generally assign students to their neighborhood schools. Many parents had criticized previous proposals that would have forced children to attend schools miles farther away.

The new boundaries could also appease some parents who said that previous boundary models would have sent low-income and middle-class students to separate schools. Under the new plan, east Plano students in some of the district's poorest neighborhoods, who currently attend Williams, would go to a high school in Murphy, a more affluent exurb.

Studies, including some by the Plano Independent School District, show low-income students perform better academically when they attend schools with middle-class students.

"I think this is an opportunity to close that achievement gap," trustee John Muns said.

The new boundaries would also remove split-feeder schools – high schools that send students on to two different senior high schools.