Kyrene board advances boundary study

By Diana Whittle
New boundaries for elementary schools in the Kyrene district have been approved, and the initial changes are expected to begin for the 2015-16 school year which starts in August. The changes passed in a 4-0 board vote on Nov. 13. The attendance realignments will be implemented over a three-year period, with the earliest phase in the east side of the district, which includes many south Tempe and west Chandler families. This analysis of enrollment is the first in nearly 20 years, during which time the district experienced a period of significant shifts in population. So the district assembled a volunteer task-force of residents, who have been charged with evaluating long-term enrollment numbers of the Kyrene district. Known as the Kyrene School Boundary Change Task Force, the group includes Kyrene staff and parents, community members and business leaders who began to meet in March 2013. The participants first looked at possible boundary changes on the east side of Interstate 10 in Tempe and Chandler. Next, the group will look at the schools on the west side of Interstate 10 in Ahwatukee said Jeremy Calles, chief financial officer for the district, who is leading the staff efforts on the project. “One of the main factors recognized in the boundary study includes the dramatic population shifts that have occurred since the last time the boundaries were drawn. “We hope to utilize our facilities more efficiently by balancing enrollment among schools and also to have students at each elementary school only feed into one middle school,” said Calles. The goals of the task force also included not having students cross over major roads or freeways and to better use the bus routes for student transportation. “It is not our intention to switch students away from the school that they are already attending. Parents will still have choice in the school that their child attends, and can use bus transportation for them to attend a different school than the one assigned to their neighborhood,” said Calles. He said that in reviewing enrollment numbers it was discovered that 19 students who are assigned to Niños attend Waggoner instead. In another statistic, the task force learned that 18 students who are assigned to Mirada are attending Paloma. “Paloma can handle the extra enrollment; but Niños is now at capacity due to the dual language program. Yet, with some simple shifts in attendance, we should be able to better balance out attendance through these boundary changes,” said Calles. Once the task force developed its recommendations, the group hosted several public forums at Pueblo, Aprende and Kyrene middle schools that were attended by 17 people. A survey, which was made available on-line, received 37 responses. “We did our best to get the information out to the public by using as many communication methods as possible,” said Calles. The end result was a public satisfaction rating of 92 percent for the recommended changes, which will affect approximately 290 students. In addition, the changes will have a two-year grandfathering period during which transportation will be provided. To see the changes, go to www.kyrene.org/ ProposedBoundaryChanges_2015-2016.