PORT ORCHARD — South Kitsap School District Superintendent Karst Brandsma has called for the formation of a boundary review committee to study classroom capacity, growing enrollment and school service areas.
Parent and staff representatives from each South Kitsap school, along with administrators, will meet weekly until Nov. 2 to establish recommendations for potential school boundary shifts. The recommendations will be presented at community meetings tentatively scheduled for November.
The district will also use surveys to gather feedback on the recommendations. The committee’s work and recommendation will be presented to the superintendent for consideration and implementation in the 2018–2019 school year.
“We know our community is growing and our schools have urgent capacity issues,” Brandsma said. “Each school is represented on the boundary review committee, and we are committed to involving our community in these decisions. The committee will study enrollment projections, teaching and classroom space, and planned residential development at each school.
“A similar committee met in 2014 and recommended the grade configuration change, along with service boundary shifts at Sunnyslope, Sidney Glen and Burley Glenwood. The area west of State Route 16 continues to be an area of growth, and we need to find solutions to accommodate our students.”
Placement of district programs will be done by administrators and will not be part of the task force’s work. To alleviate crowding and provide equitable access to programs, the following shifts in program placement will be recommended to the school board for the 2018-2019 school year:
— Balance special education programs in all three middle school feeder groups;
— Create a stand-alone Discovery Alternative High School campus on district-owned property between Marcus Whitman Middle School and the Food & Nutrition Services facility, and;
— Establish an Early Childhood Learning Center for birth-kindergarten programs on the Madrona Heights campus.
For more information on the Boundary Review Committee, visit www.skschools.org/district/strategic_planning/school_boundary_realignment.
— Edited by Michelle Beahm
