During Monday night’s meeting, the Community Consolidated School District 89 Board of Education approved new elementary-school boundaries for the 2018-19 school year. The Board members unanimously approved a ‘phased-in’ approach to the boundary change so students currently enrolled in CCSD 89 can finish elementary school at the building they now attend. The new boundaries will better balance enrollments and help the district plan for future growth.
The new boundaries move four neighborhoods, the district’s preschool, and one specialized academic classroom, which were the recommendations of the district’s boundary committee. The changes include:
- Future International Village students will attend Arbor View;
- Future Canterbury Woods students will attend Arbor View;
- Future Arboretum Estates students will attend Arbor View;
- Future Glen Park Estates students will attend Arbor View;
- Preschool classrooms will move from Arbor View to Briar Glen;
- One specialized classroom will move from Briar Glen to Park View.
Monday’s vote ends the boundary discussion that began in 2016. In addition to enrollment and boundary committees made up of community members and staff, as well as discussions at Board meetings, the district held more than a dozen public meetings to discuss the proposed changes.
“I appreciate the Board making a fiscally sound decision that minimizes the impact on students and will be sustainable in the long term,” said CCSD 89 Superintendent Dr. Emily K. Tammaru. “We are so appreciative of the many families who shared their time and insights as we worked through an important process.”
“I’m very thankful for the process that we went through,” said CCSD 89 Board of Education President Beth Powers. “It was so important that we took the time to listen to everyone. Through this process, I believe we were able to meet the needs of our stakeholders. These boundaries will ensure the most efficient use of our resources.”
After administrators reviewed dozens of scenarios, this proposal was selected as the most fiscally responsible way to move the fewest number of students. Due to projected enrollment increases, the District is scheduled to add 10.4 full-time teachers by the 2021-22 school year. The approved changes would not require the district to hire any additional staff members beyond the 10.4 needed.
Open boundary requests will be accepted starting May 9
Any new students enrolling in CCSD 89 for the 2018-19 school year will attend the building designated by the new boundaries. Students who are currently enrolled in kindergarten through fourth grade will remain in the school they currently attend until they are promoted to Glen Crest Middle School.
Any CCSD 89 parent, including those affected by the boundary change, can apply for an “open boundary” request to change the school their student attends. (Students who are currently on open boundary will not need to re-apply.)
Open boundary requests will be accepted at the student’s current school, starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 9. Applications for open boundary requests will not be accepted before 8 a.m. May 9. The requests will be time stamped. Open boundary requests must be submitted before 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 23. The district will continue to publicize these dates as the deadline draws closer.
The Board of Education policy on open boundaries is Policy 500:30-R. The policy can be viewed here: https://goo.gl/SvMUq7 .
The district does not have to grant open boundary requests. The requests are evaluated on the available space in each building, and family circumstances. Families that would have students in more than one elementary school due to boundary changes will receive consideration, but are not guaranteed their open-boundary request will be granted.
If an open boundary request is granted, parents would have to provide transportation and siblings would not be guaranteed a spot in the same school.
Students who are currently being administratively transferred will have an opportunity to return to their school, if space allows.
By Board policy, the district has until the sixth day of the 2018-19 school year to make a decision on open-boundary requests. Typically, the district tries to make a decision before the start of the school year.
Background information on boundary process
The boundary change is being considered due to recent and future increases in the District’s enrollment. A demographer’s report on these changes can be viewed at: https://goo.gl/BnhtRE
These enrollment surges led to a significant increase in the number of students who are “administratively transferred” – meaning they are bused or driven to schools outside the boundaries where they live, to buildings that have open space. In the past, this caused some students to miss classroom minutes in order to accommodate busing. This year, some students are on the bus for 50 minutes before and after school.
In 2016, the superintendent formed an Enrollment Committee made up of community members, board members, and staff. The committee agreed that the district’s buildings have enough space for total elementary enrollment, but that the population needed to be more evenly distributed. After considering the effects on the district and school populations, the long-term viability, and the economic impact, the committee recommended boundary changes as the best way to balance enrollments.
The district used mapping and forecasting software to evaluate the five-year impact of each of the more than 30 subdivisions in the district. The Boundary Committee looked at four scenarios and unanimously recommended the boundaries that were approved Monday night.
A map and more information about the potential boundary-change proposal can be found at www.ccsd89.org/BoundaryProposal
The agendas, minutes, presentations, and documents from all the Enrollment and Boundary committee meetings can be found at www.ccsd89.org/BoundaryCommittee
