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Board
members meeting Monday night took no action after
hearing a report from the district's Boundary
Committee. The board is expected to vote on the
committee's recommendations at its April 19 meeting.
The Boundary Committee, consisting of two school
board members, two administrators, and two Teachers
Association members, reported on a process that
began October 2000 to address student population
trends.
Current class sizes
Under current district guidelines, the average
class size for grades K-3 should be 20-25 students,
Superintendent Perry Soldwedel said. In grades
3-8, the average class size should be 25-32 students.
Under the new boundaries, average class sizes
would range from 26-28 intermediate and junior
high students.
Changes
With some exceptions, students now living north
of Westgate Drive to Sheridan Road, including
all houses on Redwood Drive, and students living
west of 19th Street to 11th Street and north from
Park Avenue to Caroline Street would switch from
Washington and Edison schools to Wilson and Broadmoor
schools next year.
On the southern end of the current boundaries,
Wilson and Broadmoor students who live on both
sides of Prince Street and Rose Court and those
who live north of that area to Park Avenue would
go to class at Washington and Edison school.
Projected change
If the plan is approved, 57 percent of junior
high students will go to class at Broadmoor and
43 percent will go to Edison.
Changes will be phased in to allow seventh-grade
students to remain at their current schools.
Changes at the intermediate level would send 57
percent of the students to Wilson School and 43
percent to Washington Intermediate School. At
this time, no changes will be made at the elementary
level to allow the district time to begin its
pre-kindergarten program at Wilson School.
Schedule
Those changes are expected to come for the 2002-2003
school year, said Soldwedel and fellow administrator
Chuck Bowen said.
Students currently are divided 50-50 between the
intermediate and junior high schools.
The new addition to Wilson School will allow more
students to attend class there.
The district seeks to equalize class sizes, keep
transportation costs low and get as much use out
of state and federal grants as possible.
By keeping student population similar from school
to school, the district can continue to get grant
money such as a federal grant based on the percentage
of students at risk of academic failure.
Kim Lunsford may be reached by phone at 346-1111
ext. 659 or by e-mail at klunsford@pekintimes.com. |
