August 15, 2024 – The process of reviewing and adapting the district’s long-term plans to reshape boundaries and consolidate schools continued this week as School Board members reviewed an updated idea during their regular workshop. This concept was informed with strong community input over five meetings during the summer. While the concept is not a complete or formal recommendation, it was presented to keep the board informed of a larger district strategy to incorporate community engagement and feedback into this work.
Earlier this year, a consultant created a proposal in response to a projected $1.4 Billion dollar budget gap in the district’s Master Facility Plan. The gap between projected revenue and increased costs is largely a result of declining enrollment, required revenue sharing with charter schools, and pandemic-related construction cost increases.
From that proposal, district leaders sought to engage with stakeholders by hosting an online survey and seven community meetings, inviting the public to participate in discussions, ask questions, and share feedback.
District leaders also established Community Review Groups. Comprised of representatives from each school and school board–appointees, members met multiple times throughout the summer to reach consensus on factors and key values they would want the district to consider as it refines the long-term plans. Key values include:
- Preserving high-performance schools (A-B schools) that are over 85% utilization regardless of the size of the school
- Attempting to keep neighborhood schools
- Ensuring walkability for students
- Attempting to avoid crossings of major roads or areas with safety concerns
- Considering the special populations, programs, and class configurations
- Accounting for traffic impact and new growth impact using a common-sense constrained site approach
- Maintaining community feel, aligning feeder patterns to ensure neighborhood integrity
It’s with these values that the district worked with the consultant to develop a new idea with revised feeder patterns, school closures, and consolidations. The district discussed this idea with the Community Review Groups earlier this month and with the School Board today. The district also reviewed budget trends, and feedback from the community group on the idea.
No formal recommendation has been made to the board. Community feedback will be considered, and the district will present a new proposal to the Community Review Groups when they meet on September 5. From there, additional updates will be discussed at the board’s September 17 workshop.
