Oct. 8, 2024
Following a demographic study conducted in 2023, SPS has carefully considered the data provided and reviewed current and future facility needs to identify any opportunities for improvement. In response to anticipated population trends within the SPS attendance boundaries, the district recommends adjusting some school boundaries and feeder patterns to help balance enrollment and utilization of space.
To better serve students and families, recommendations have been developed regarding eligibility for bus transportation, attendance boundary adjustments and modifications to one middle school feeder pattern.
These recommendations were presented to the Board of Education for the first time tonight for consideration and discussion. A decision is expected to be made about the recommendations at the Oct. 22 meeting.
However, if approved, the following recommendations will not take effect until the 2025-2026 school year:
Recommendation 1: Expand transportation eligibility
In order to provide bus service to more students, a recommendation is being made to expand transportation eligibility for students at elementary, intermediate and K-8 schools. By changing the eligibility requirement to include students who live 1 mile or more from school, more students will be eligible to ride the bus. Currently, students must live 1.5 miles or more from school to be eligible. With the change, approximately 1,110 additional students would be eligible for transportation.
In order to expand transportation service districtwide, it is necessary to make changes to start and dismissal times for two schools. If the change is implemented, Sunshine Elementary would move from Tier 1 to Tier 2 and Westport K-8 would move from Tier 1 to Tier 3.
Recommendation 2: Balance utilization of space for Mann and Jeffries elementary schools
It is anticipated that Mann will experience growth in enrollment over the next few years, which will result in the school being overutilized. To balance utilization, the Mann boundary will be adjusted to send some students to Jeffries. Beginning in 2025-2026, approximately 34 students would be affected, and they would all be eligible to receive bus transportation to Jeffries if the change is implemented.
Recommendation 3: Balance utilization of space for Sunshine, Holland and Twain elementary schools
It is anticipated that Sunshine will experience growth in enrollment over the next few years. To balance utilization, the Sunshine boundary will be adjusted to send some students to Holland and Twain elementary schools. Beginning in 2025-2026, approximately 43 students would move to Twain and 19 students would move to Holland. Because most of the students moving to Holland or Twain live within a mile of their new school, they will no longer be eligible to receive bus transportation.
Recommendation 4: Balance utilization of space for Westport K-8 and Pipkin Middle School
Enrollment at Westport is expected to increase in the coming years while Pipkin will be underutilized. To balance utilization of these schools, the middle school feeder pattern for Bissett Elementary School will be shifted. Students who live in the Bissett attendance area would transition to Pipkin instead of Westport for middle school beginning in 2025-2026. These students would receive bus transportation to Pipkin due to a barrier street.
Recommendation 5: Create Middle School Boundary Advisory Committee
To further balance utilization at the middle school level, an advisory committee would be appointed to evaluate middle school boundaries throughout the district and provide recommendations. No changes would be made prior to the 2026-2027 school year.
The study session meeting on October 8 is the first time for the school board to review and discuss this information. Updates will be provided as discussions about these recommendations continue.
A recording of the study session is posted here.
Community meetings are being planned in November to provide families an opportunity to learn more about the recommended changes and ask questions. Details will be shared as soon as they are available.
Families that are directly impacted by one of the proposed changes will receive a separate communication about next steps.
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