DISD board member Lew Blackburn stated that he believed that the district's price figure of $130 million is too high.

[5] A plan was proposed to have the George Washington Carver Creative Arts Learning Center building closed so a new Pinkston High School could be built on its site, tentatively opening in 2020.

[7] The school began serving middle school levels in 2018, absorbing students from the closed Edison Middle Learning Center,[6] which had perennial low scores in Texas state tests.

[9] Pinkston had been ranked "Improvement Required" by the Texas Education Agency for a three year period from circa 2012 to 2014.

Holly K. Hacker of The Dallas Morning News said that the rate was "a dismal figure even when taking into account the school's poverty and other social challenges.

"[10] Liliana Valdez, the school district's director of college and career readiness, said that since the 2009 rankings, the district enacted measures at Pinkston to improve the statistics, including the creation of magnet programs for architecture, automotive technology, criminal justice, and law.

[6] The following DHA properties are zoned to Pinkston for all levels (grades 7-12):[11][12] the Hamptons at Lakewest,[13] Kingbridge Crossing,[14] Lakeview Townhomes,[15] and Villa Creek Apartments.