According to a report from the Elementary Attendance Boundary Realignment Committee, the Westerville City School District should revise elementary attendance boundaries so as many students as possible, living in the same neighborhood, can attend school together.
The report, which was presented to the Board of Education during its February 11, 2013, regular meeting, included three elementary attendance boundary options that reflect committee members’ feedback to create same-school neighborhoods, reduce the number of non-contiguous attendance areas, and reduce among buildings the range of demographic percentages for ethnicity and students receiving free or reduced lunches.
Current elementary boundaries include 11 non-contiguous attendance areas, meaning a different elementary attendance boundary separates some students from their actual school of attendance. Under each of the three options shared with the Board, the number of non-contiguous attendance areas is reduced to six. Each option also reduces the range of demographic percentages among buildings as compared to current figures.
Elimination of the district’s Magnet Program at the end of the current school year means that school buildings and classroom spaces, once used to house the program, are available for other purposes beginning with the 2013-14 academic year. District officials continue to explore potential uses for Central College and Longfellow elementary schools, while a concept under consideration for Hanby and Emerson elementary schools is a shared attendance area for their use as traditional schools.
Board members expressed their desire to minimize the number of students impacted by any boundary changes that would be made. According to the options presented to date, between 1,348 and 1,657 of the district’s approximate 6,650 Pre-k through fifth-grade students could be impacted by the elementary attendance boundary realignment process.
The Board of Education is expected to hold a first reading on revised elementary attendance boundaries at its February 25, 2013, regular meeting. Board approval of the revised boundaries is expected to occur on March 11, 2013.
Information about the elementary boundary realignment process, as well as opportunities for families and the general public to provide feedback on options under consideration, can be found on the district homepage at www.wcsoh.org.