Committee Rejects Plan To Link School Boundaries

The Middle School Boundary Committee said Wednesday it will not support an alternate proposal presented by two patrons at the last school board meeting.

The alternate plan tied middle school boundaries to elementary school boundaries rather than using geographic lines.

Committee Chairman Jack Smetana said in a written statement Wednesday that the alternate proposal lacked proper public comment and used unsubstantiated numbers. There’s an infinite number of boundaries solutions, Smetana said, all with pros and cons that differ in importance depending on who is evaluating them.

“The committee recognizes that no ‘ideal’ situation exists that will satisfy all the concerns of all the patrons within the school district,” Smetana wrote.

The alternate proposal would leave the new Woodland Middle School underpopulated, while increasing population at Canfield, according to the committee. Smetana said voters who approved the school funding did so assuming the facility would be used for immediate needs, to help ease crowding at Canfield, for example.

The alternate proposal generally follows the “feeder school” concept that sends elementary classes to the nearest middle school. But keeping fifth-graders together wasn’t the major concern of most parents. For example, Indian Meadows residents said overwhelmingly that proximity to the new middle school outweighs preservation of the Winton fifth-grade class, Smetana wrote.

In addition, although bus time would be reduced for a few students south of U.S. Highway 95, the alternate proposal would increase bus time for other students north of Haycraft, attending Lakes. The alternate proposal also did not address a transition period for current Canfield students in the disputed Borah triangle, and encroached on the walking area of Canfield.

The committee’s final proposal splits groups at five elementary schools away from their classmates, but evenly distributes the number of students between the three middle schools.

Using boundaries tied to elementary schools is a short-term solution, Smetana said, because elementary boundaries are likely to change as the district considers a 10th elementary school.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEXT The committee’s proposed plan is on display at the district’s central administrative office at 311 N. 10th. The school board is scheduled to vote on the recommendation Monday at its 6 p.m. meeting at Ramsey Elementary School.