KINGSTON — North Kitsap School District Attendance Boundary Task Force member Dana Hall offered perhaps the most accurate statement about moving elementary students from one school to another to balance classroom populations: “Change is hard.”

It’s been 10 years since the district last altered its elementary boundaries and many of the schools are either overcrowded — or have a surplus of space.

The current recommendation by the task force is to move 140 students in the area from fringe areas already close to the current boundaries that would make such an adjustment easier. The task force, which has been meeting since March 30, has also stated it will attempt to not split neighborhoods and encourage natural boundaries between schools wherever possible.

But many factors will determine whether moves are possible. One such item is state funding for free and reduced lunches, which require a certain percentage of a school’s population to qualify for them before they are granted.

“The demographics really affect the school,” said NKSD Assistant Director of Learning Support Services Dixie Husser. “When you change the boundaries, you change the (state funding) formula.”

This could occur if 29 students are moved from Poulsbo to Suquamish Elementary School, which Husser said could jeopardize state funding for the Poulsbo school if it dropped below a percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.

And as factors go, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The biggest change the attendance boundary committee is recommending would be at Vinland Elementary, where enrollment is suggested to decrease by about 84 students. Vinland is currently about 33 students over its recommended capacity, but the task force is factoring in growth in North Kitsap during the next 10 years. As Vinland is closest to some of the largest developments in the area — including Olhava — the need to leave room to cushion growth is crucial, the task force said.

“Most of the growth (in North Kitsap) is happening at the school that is already bulging at the seams,” said District Director of Finance and Operations Nancy Moffatt.

Also factored into the boundary equation is the transition to kindergarten-5 elementary schools from their current K-6 configuration due to the opening of the new Kingston High School in 2007. At that point, two NK high schools will move to a grades nine-12 conformation. Then, Poulsbo and Kingston junior high schools, both of which currently have grades seven through nine, can move to the middle school sixth through eighth grade configuration, thus alleviating NKSD’s elementaries of their eldest grade.

At the present attendance boundaries, the grade change would actually drop Pearson’s enrollment below 300, said task force representative Jonathan Hibbs. That means the school could accommodate a large group of students from over-populated Vinland.

Poulsbo and Gordon elementaries also have a need to shed down their student counts and Wolfle and Suquamish are presently underpopulated. The task force is suggesting to add about 29 students from Poulsbo to Suquamish and 25 students from Gordon to Wolfle.

The community will have many opportunities to weigh in on the decision, the first of which will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 in Vinland Elementary’s multipurpose room.

No boundary changes have been solidified and no date has been set for the alterations to take effect. A boundary change would also face a school board approval.

The preliminary public discussion of NK’s secondary schools — Poulsbo and Kingston Junior High School as well as North Kitsap High School and the initial boundary for Kingston High School — will also begin soon. That change would be implemented when the new school is slated to open in 2007.

By JOSH FARLEY

Staff Writer

KINGSTON — North Kitsap School District Attendance Boundary Task Force member Dana Hall offered perhaps the most accurate statement about moving elementary students from one school to another to balance classroom populations: “Change is hard.”

It’s been 10 years since the district last altered its elementary boundaries and many of the schools are either overcrowded — or have a surplus of space.

The current recommendation by the task force is to move 140 students in the area from fringe areas already close to the current boundaries that would make such an adjustment easier. The task force, which has been meeting since March 30, has also stated it will attempt to not split neighborhoods and encourage natural boundaries between schools wherever possible.

But many factors will determine whether moves are possible. One such item is state funding for free and reduced lunches, which require a certain percentage of a school’s population to qualify for them before they are granted.

“The demographics really affect the school,” said NKSD Assistant Director of Learning Support Services Dixie Husser. “When you change the boundaries, you change the (state funding) formula.”

This could occur if 29 students are moved from Poulsbo to Suquamish Elementary School, which Husser said could jeopardize state funding for the Poulsbo school if it dropped below a percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.

And as factors go, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The biggest change the attendance boundary committee is recommending would be at Vinland Elementary, where enrollment is suggested to decrease by about 84 students. Vinland is currently about 33 students over its recommended capacity, but the task force is factoring in growth in North Kitsap during the next 10 years. As Vinland is closest to some of the largest developments in the area — including Olhava — the need to leave room to cushion growth is crucial, the task force said.

“Most of the growth (in North Kitsap) is happening at the school that is already bulging at the seams,” said District Director of Finance and Operations Nancy Moffatt.

Also factored into the boundary equation is the transition to kindergarten-5 elementary schools from their current K-6 configuration due to the opening of the new Kingston High School in 2007. At that point, two NK high schools will move to a grades nine-12 conformation. Then, Poulsbo and Kingston junior high schools, both of which currently have grades seven through nine, can move to the middle school sixth through eighth grade configuration, thus alleviating NKSD’s elementaries of their eldest grade.

At the present attendance boundaries, the grade change would actually drop Pearson’s enrollment below 300, said task force representative Jonathan Hibbs. That means the school could accommodate a large group of students from over-populated Vinland.

Poulsbo and Gordon elementaries also have a need to shed down their student counts and Wolfle and Suquamish are presently underpopulated. The task force is suggesting to add about 29 students from Poulsbo to Suquamish and 25 students from Gordon to Wolfle.

The community will have many opportunities to weigh in on the decision, the first of which will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 in Vinland Elementary’s multipurpose room.

No boundary changes have been solidified and no date has been set for the alterations to take effect. A boundary change would also face a school board approval.

The preliminary public discussion of NK’s secondary schools — Poulsbo and Kingston Junior High School as well as North Kitsap High School and the initial boundary for Kingston High School — will also begin soon. That change would be implemented when the new school is slated to open in 2007.