Crowding Forces Busing Of Students

Overflowing enrollment in the Central Valley School District has caused 167 students - mostly elementary level - to be bused away from their home schools.

“It’s hectic,” said Jolene Ackerman, whose two daughters ride one bus from Liberty Lake to Greenacres Elementary, then another from Greenacres to Sunrise Elementary. “They ride better than an hour on the bus.”

CV predicted enrollment to be about 10,100 but has 10,387 full-time students. The greatest increase was in elementary schools, with 176 more students than anticipated. The growth is most noticeable at along Broadway Avenue and in Liberty Lake.

Four bonds that failed in recent years all targeted building a new elementary school in Liberty Lake. The CV school board plans to float another bond, for $23 million, in March.

“We’re kind of at a loss,” said Skip Bonuccelli, district spokesman. “You tell people, we’re sorry, but we don’t have any room.”

Penny McGrath lives just three blocks from Adams Elementary, but each day, her two children, one a first-grader, the other a fourth grader, are also bused to Sunrise, the elementary school with the most room.

The toughest part, said McGrath, was explaining the busing to her children.

“If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t tell them until the first day of school what school they’re going to,” McGrath said. “One minute they were going to Adams and the next minute they were going to Sunrise. My advice to another parent would be to be quiet until school starts.”

Several elementary students also are being bused in the East Valley School District, where enrollment is 106 above projections. Much of the increase, said Superintendent Chuck Stocker, is due to the district’s new alternative education program for high schoolers, which has attracted 48 new students.

At the elementary level, the greatest overflow is at East Farms Elementary, Stocker said. Several students are being bused from there to Otis Orchards Elementary.

West Valley School District projected having 95 more students this year than last, but ended up with just 15 extra. However, that number should grow, said assistant superintendent Doug Matson, as enrollment continues at the district’s two alternative education programs.

Enrollment is up slightly above projections at Freeman School District, south of the Valley.

The overflow in CV’s elementaries caused Carol Peterson, the director of elementary education, to put in some late nights. But, through communication with principals and gathering of enrollment data, Peterson and her staff placed all but two students by the first day of school.

CV’s junior high populations remained mostly stable, except for Greenacres Junior High School, which grew by 30 students, reflecting a population increase in the district’s eastern end.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ‘95 ENROLLMENT Central Valley: 10,387 Projected: 10,100

East Valley: 4,530 Projected: 4,424

West Valley: 3,393 Projected: 3,473

Freeman: 891 Projected: 884