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New School Boundaries Approved |
| By Mary
Headley New school boundaries for the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) were approved by the SVVSD Board of Education at its Dec. 13 meeting. The boundaries were approved as recommended by the SVVSD Long Range Planning Committee and account for the new Middle/High School #4, which is scheduled to openthis fall. They were designed to overcome chronic overcrowding at certain SVVSD schools and to optimize school capacities within the district. There was little discussion at the meeting, which followed several public hearings on the boundaries. A major issue at previous meetings was that of families having to send siblings to two different high schools. Under the new boundary plan, about 100 families could end up in that situation. The board modified its open enrollment regulations to allow those families to appeal to the school superintendent. To send such siblings to the same school, parents will need to make a written case to prove the split causes hardship. The board said that decisions will be finalized this spring on whether any of the SVVSD schools will be eligible for open enrollment. Recently announced figures show the district has experienced a record-breaking four percent increasein overall enrollment in 2000, and an increase of almost nine percent at themiddle school level. Much of this growth is attributed to new housingdevelopments in Erie, Frederick, and Firestone. According to SVVSD planning manager Scott Toillion, this increase is more than double the average growth rate for the past five years. As a result, all district middle schools are currently at or over capacity, with the exception of Longs Peak Middle School. A SVVSD school is usually available for open enrollment only when it is under 100 percent capacity and is not projected to reach capacity in the immediate future. The current policy allows for some additional open enrollment, upon formal application and in certain cases, at the discretion of the principal in consultation with a planning specialist. A new amendment to the policy, approved on Dec.13, also gives the SVVSD superintendentsome discretion in special circumstances to grant open enrollment. The attendance area for the new Middle/High School #4, located near the intersectionof Nelson and Airport Roads, includes some areas formerly going to Niwot andLongmont High Schools, and to Sunset and Westview Middle Schools. The#4 Middle School will be fed by the Eagle Crest Elementary School only. The #4 High School will be fed by both the #4 Middle School and those Westview Middle School students living in the Longmont Estates Elementary School area. School #4 Principal Chris Rugg is now taking community suggestions for an official name for the school, which is slated to open in August for grades 6-10. Grades 11 and 12 will be added over the next two years. Rugg says he hopes to begin tours of the new school in April. Details of the new school attendance areas and maps, along with highlights from the Long Range Planning Committee’s report, were reported in the Dec. 2 issue of the Courier. For more information about the boundaries and open enrollment,contact the Long Range Planning Committee at 303-682-7229. For more information about School #4, contact Chris Rugg at 303-776-6014, ext. 275. |
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Posted January 2001