Monday, board members held a special meeting to discuss the plan, ask questions, and look at maps. No action was taken.
“It was our first opportunity to lay the maps out. I think we were able to get a grasp what was going to be recommended to us,” says board member Connie Dietz.
Although there were concerns raised, board members did not raise major objections to the plan.
“I think to put it in a format where it makes sense to the average person… I think that's what we're bringing to the table,” says board president Betty Arnold.
Members asked for more details about why certain schools were chosen for closure. They also voiced concerns about overcrowding that is still an issue in the new plan. They also asked for the number of students affected by some of the proposed changes.
The meeting is considered a workshop. There was no public comment. After an 18 month process, including focus group and public feedback meetings, the board will vote on the changes at the end of this month.
Any changes recommended by the school board at Monday’s meeting will likely go into a final proposal on February 13th.
The proposal the board received tonight doesn't look much different than what the public saw last month. Click here for a specific breakdown for each school. We've also included some highlights below.
Northeast Magnet High School
- Northeast Magnet High School program would move to the new high school under construction at 53rd North and Rock
New Southeast Quadrant K-8 boundary created
- Boundary established for the new school encompasses the southeast portion of Coleman Middle School south of Kellogg and east of Zelta
Close three schools- Bryant, Emerson Lincoln
- Close three schools – Bryant, Emerson and Lincoln - and provide opportunities for district students to attend other neighborhood or magnet elementary schools
• Mueller Aerospace and Engineering Discovery Elementary Magnet boundary changes
- Move Mueller’s magnet program to the current Isely Traditional Magnet Elementary building, and close the current Mueller building
- Mueller’s neighborhood boundary would be the area west of Hillside, south of 25th Street, east of Grove, south of 21st Street, east of Hydraulic, and north of 18th Street
New Southeast Quadrant K-8 boundary created
- Boundary established for the new school encompasses the eastern portion of Seltzer’s boundary, east of 127th Street to Harry, south of Harry to Greenwich, east of Greenwich to Pawnee, and south of Pawnee
