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Post by doctorwho on Oct 29, 2012 7:21:29 GMT -6
Special 5 PM meeting today before 7 PM regular meeting - and guess what appears to be the topic ?
You got it- just as we told you- boundaries ! Hope everyone who just got comfortable is sitting down, because IF, and that in 204 is a huge IF, they actually work off realistic attendance figures and follow the year 2-3% per year - attendance reduction trend in K-5 - then guess what we will be looking at ?
they also need to figure out all the kids we are 'cabbing' to school from Chicago
Enjoy the shiny $154M school- the time to pay the piper is arriving
Here is cryptic agenda for 5 PM meeting today - from the 204 web site:
Agenda Item Details
Meeting
Oct 29, 2012 - Notice of Special Meeting (Workshop)
Category
Special Meeting - Work Session - 5:00 p.m.
Subject
Call to Order
Type
Procedural
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Post by doctorwho on Oct 29, 2012 7:25:15 GMT -6
Special 5 PM meeting today before 7 PM regular meeting - and guess what appears to be the topic ? You got it- just as we told you- boundaries ! Hope everyone who just got comfortable is sitting down, because IF, and that in 204 is a huge IF, they actually work off realistic attendance figures and follow the year 2-3% per year - attendance reduction trend in K-5 - then guess what we will be looking at ? they also need to figure out all the kids we are 'cabbing' to school from Chicago Enjoy the shiny $154M school- the time to pay the piper is arriving Here is cryptic agenda for 5 PM meeting today - from the 204 web site: Agenda Item Details Meeting Oct 29, 2012 - Notice of Special Meeting (Workshop) Category Special Meeting - Work Session - 5:00 p.m. Subject Call to Order Type Procedural boundary discussion IS workshop 1. Special Meeting - Work Session - 5:00 p.m. A. Call to Order B. Roll Call C. Pledge of Allegiance 2. Action A. Approval of the Board Vacancy Appointment - SR B. Oath of Office 3. Discussion-Work session
A. RSP Demo Study - Jay Strang B. Recesss/Reconvene 4. Executive Session - 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1),(6),(11) - 6:15 pm A. The Appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance,or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body. B. The setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the public body. C. Litigation, when an action against affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting. 5. Adjournment A. Adjourn the meeting |
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Oct 30, 2012 10:32:17 GMT -6
It would appear our district is not alone. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ October 30, 2012 By Dec. 1, Chicago Public Schools officials must deliver to state lawmakers a list of schools slated to close at the end of this school year. The district will release its criteria for making those decisions this week. As many as 120 Chicago schools are likely to be on the chopping block because the district faces a $1 billion budget gap next year. And the following year. This is a critical moment for CPS and its new CEO, Barbara Byrd-Bennett. Make no mistake: This will be painful. But scores of schools must be closed. There are more than 100,000 empty seats in schools because CPS badly mismanaged its real estate portfolio over the past decade. Overall district enrollment has declined by 34,000 students since 2003. CPS built new schools to relieve overcrowding in some communities but failed to close enough of the older, emptier ones, often caving to community pressure. Reality check: Keeping half-used buildings open is a huge financial drain the system can't afford. CPS says it can save about $800,000 a year in operating costs by closing a school and reassigning kids to schools that have extra space. It also avoids the cost of capital improvements, and could generate some revenue through property sales. Those closings alone won't eliminate this huge budget gap. But CPS simply can't operate more schools — heat more buildings, patch more roofs — than its students need. One of the first major tests for Byrd-Bennett is how compellingly the district makes its case to Chicagoans — particularly parents of CPS students — that neighborhood schools must close. She needs to deliver a clear explanation of the district's strategy. Byrd-Bennett and her boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, need to build community support for these closings. They should start making the case now by stressing two major points: •Many of those half-empty schools not only drain resources, they rank among the district's worst performers. CPS should first close schools that are underenrolled and poor performers. Scores of schools fit that profile. •Displaced students can benefit academically if they transfer to a higher-quality school. That's the conclusion of a 2009 University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research study of 18 elementary schools closed from 2001 to 2006. "Displaced students who enrolled in new schools with high average achievement had larger gains in both reading and math than students who enrolled in receiving schools with lower average achievement," the study said. That could be a huge selling point for CPS to parents. No, not every student will be able to move to a much better-performing school; sadly, there aren't enough in the system. But closing half-empty underperformers and boosting investment in the remaining schools should massively increase the odds that a child will transfer to a better school. We know this will be a painful and emotional time for parents, teachers and students. Many parents don't want to send their kids to another school, no matter how abysmal the neighborhood school performs. There are legitimate safety issues in some neighborhoods. The Chicago Teachers Union should help guide CPS closings, not stand in the doorway of every school, shouting "No!" And then there are the politicians. We expect state legislators who unwisely tried to meddle in earlier closings and turnarounds to try again with this round. They may have company: Some 33 aldermen are calling for City Council hearings on the closings, demanding to know which schools are being targeted for closing and under what criteria. That can be helpful if the goal is to inform parents, not to delay the inevitable. We understand the impulse to save neighborhood schools. But this isn't a matter of CPS whim. This is about the creating a sustainable budget for the district and its 404,000 students. Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-closings-20121030,0,784277.story |
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Post by doctorwho on Oct 31, 2012 14:40:54 GMT -6
It would appear our district is not alone. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ October 30, 2012 By Dec. 1, Chicago Public Schools officials must deliver to state lawmakers a list of schools slated to close at the end of this school year. The district will release its criteria for making those decisions this week. As many as 120 Chicago schools are likely to be on the chopping block because the district faces a $1 billion budget gap next year. And the following year. This is a critical moment for CPS and its new CEO, Barbara Byrd-Bennett. Make no mistake: This will be painful. But scores of schools must be closed. There are more than 100,000 empty seats in schools because CPS badly mismanaged its real estate portfolio over the past decade. Overall district enrollment has declined by 34,000 students since 2003. CPS built new schools to relieve overcrowding in some communities but failed to close enough of the older, emptier ones, often caving to community pressure. Reality check: Keeping half-used buildings open is a huge financial drain the system can't afford. CPS says it can save about $800,000 a year in operating costs by closing a school and reassigning kids to schools that have extra space. It also avoids the cost of capital improvements, and could generate some revenue through property sales. Those closings alone won't eliminate this huge budget gap. But CPS simply can't operate more schools — heat more buildings, patch more roofs — than its students need. One of the first major tests for Byrd-Bennett is how compellingly the district makes its case to Chicagoans — particularly parents of CPS students — that neighborhood schools must close. She needs to deliver a clear explanation of the district's strategy. Byrd-Bennett and her boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, need to build community support for these closings. They should start making the case now by stressing two major points: •Many of those half-empty schools not only drain resources, they rank among the district's worst performers. CPS should first close schools that are underenrolled and poor performers. Scores of schools fit that profile. •Displaced students can benefit academically if they transfer to a higher-quality school. That's the conclusion of a 2009 University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research study of 18 elementary schools closed from 2001 to 2006. "Displaced students who enrolled in new schools with high average achievement had larger gains in both reading and math than students who enrolled in receiving schools with lower average achievement," the study said. That could be a huge selling point for CPS to parents. No, not every student will be able to move to a much better-performing school; sadly, there aren't enough in the system. But closing half-empty underperformers and boosting investment in the remaining schools should massively increase the odds that a child will transfer to a better school. We know this will be a painful and emotional time for parents, teachers and students. Many parents don't want to send their kids to another school, no matter how abysmal the neighborhood school performs. There are legitimate safety issues in some neighborhoods. The Chicago Teachers Union should help guide CPS closings, not stand in the doorway of every school, shouting "No!" And then there are the politicians. We expect state legislators who unwisely tried to meddle in earlier closings and turnarounds to try again with this round. They may have company: Some 33 aldermen are calling for City Council hearings on the closings, demanding to know which schools are being targeted for closing and under what criteria. That can be helpful if the goal is to inform parents, not to delay the inevitable. We understand the impulse to save neighborhood schools. But this isn't a matter of CPS whim. This is about the creating a sustainable budget for the district and its 404,000 students. Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-closings-20121030,0,784277.story whiule not alone- that doesn't make it any better - comparing us with the CPS fiasco should make you cringe. Remember, this was a district with a large surplus just a few years ago until we decided to whiz it away for a shiny building we didn't need- which becomes more obvious every day. You're about to be asked for more money - send a message to the powers that be- not to just waste it as they did with the surplus. |
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Post by doctorwho on Oct 31, 2012 14:43:18 GMT -6
SSSM - the SB members were given a spreadsheet by our new financial guru ( who is not a financial guy) - that has the attendance patterns by school and sub toitalled by ES-MS- and HS for the last 5 years and predictions for the coming 5 years.
No word on where those projections came from- hopefully the NIU group who gave us the 12000-14000 High school students by now team has been dismantled and likely working on Obama's medical plan impact team.
(I will attach the PDF doc shortly)
Okay, first thing to learn in 204 is to do the basic math and see if it stands up-- SURPRISE -- it does NOT !
2008 HS capacity ( adj for MVHS) 10200 - supposed capacity on new sheet 9180 which is 90 % of total
2008 MS capacity ( adj to add Fischer) 8200 -- supposed capacity today 7111 which is 86.7% of total
2008 ES capacity ( no need to adjust ) 17125 - supposed capacity today 14603 which is 85.2% of total
Shrinkage due to global warming ?
Supposedly we have lost a couple thousand seats due to special program rooms (we've heard this before). a couple of thousand- unbelievable with NO backup --why do people take whatever this admin ( who has lied to us numerous times before) - for granted ?
SO the following MUST be answered before we plunge into some other half cocked idea...
1/ Why the heck has the capacity numbers dropped from 35525 ( adding MVHS 3000) - to 30894 ? have the schools shrunk 4631 kids worth or 13%
-- or are we defining capacity as 87% -- which is it ? can't keep moving the bogey number to suit needs
2/ why is the % of capacity compared to 2008 ( IPSD #'s) - different for ES than for MS than for HS ? What modifier was used ?
3/ Whose projections are for the ES population to remain basically flat the next 5 years when the last three years of ES have seen a drop in 697 kids ?
-0.9% -1.8% -3.7% Don't hand us another NIU bogus projection
4/ Where are all the 'out of district' kids, including those being cabbed to our schools accounted for in these numbers since the reside and attend numbers match?
-- these are hundreds of kids btw- not a handful
-- answer was they are being counted 'in district' numbers -- are you kidding me ? At least Dave Holm was a good accounting person, now it appears we just can make stuff up and call it whatever we want- nothing means anything !
using 2008 capacity numbers we are at 79.5% of capacity today ( capacity defined as 100%) - headed lower - and likely lower than that since I don't see any way the ES trend downward doesn't continue in today's economy.
BTW -- using the schools own numbers - if we do not build MVHS- we would be 87.2% of capacity today -- nice use of $154M
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Nov 1, 2012 8:31:34 GMT -6
Doc, sounds like same old data with a slight revision downward on total projection. I had a conversation with Dr. Kentucky years ago with regard to high school population present and future #'s. He felt high school population would top out in the low 9000's.
It appears that with future events will include folding a middle school, tweeking boundaries as some primary schools are busy while others are underutilized.
These issues along with the possibility of school districts becoming responsible for employee pension obligations should put pressure on districts budgets. We can all expect these costs to be passed on to the taxpayer for years to come.
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Post by doctorwho on Nov 1, 2012 12:11:02 GMT -6
Doc, sounds like same old data with a slight revision downward on total projection. I had a conversation with Dr. Kentucky years ago with regard to high school population present and future #'s. He felt high school population would top out in the low 9000's. It appears that with future events will include folding a middle school, tweeking boundaries as some primary schools are busy while others are underutilized. These issues along with the possibility of school districts becoming responsible for employee pension obligations should put pressure on districts budgets. We can all expect these costs to be passed on to the taxpayer for years to come. it's the same old 'real data' but a far cry from the screaming over 10,400-11,000- then 12,000 HS students that got people to get their panties in a bunch and vote for $154M white elephant, isn't it. The projection - using their own number and no growth as the downturn moves it way into the system will be 8500-8600 and yes sadly- knowing our illustrious ogvernor and king Madigan- those costs are coming our way-- and SOON ! They know of no other way - cutting costs not in the vocabulary - |
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Post by EagleDad on Dec 11, 2012 10:44:00 GMT -6
Yup, it's here. Interesting to me that 7th graders will be allowed to stay at their current middle school, a luxury that was not afforded my child during the last changes, much to her dismay. Looks like the little ones (elementary) are getting moved abruptly regardless of tenure at their school.
This fall, District 204 hired a firm to conduct a comprehensive demographic study to gain information about projected enrollment throughout the district over the next 5 years. RSP & Associates provided a detailed report that is posted on the district's website.
Based on the report, administrators are recommending elementary attendance area adjustments to ease overcrowding at three elementary schools — Cowlishaw, Longwood and Young. RSP & Associates' projections show these three elementary schools will continue to be overcrowded for the next five years unless adjustments are made. The adjustments would allow the portable classrooms at Young to be removed. Elementary school adjustments would begin with the 2013-14 school year.
The proposal provides relief for these three schools by adjusting the attendance area for approximately 300 students who currently attend Cowlishaw, Longwood and Young. These 300 students would be assigned to five schools -- Brookdale, Brooks, Owen, Steck and White Eagle. Fifth graders in 2013-14 will have the option to stay at their current school.
Middle school adjustments would begin with the 2014-15 school year. At that time, a small number of 6th graders will attend Still instead of Hill and Hill instead of Granger. Seventh and eighth graders in 2014-15 will have the option of remaining in their current middle school.
There will be no changes to high school assignments.
The Board of Education is currently reviewing the proposed adjustments and is expected to vote on the recommendation January 14.
More information, including a list of proposed attendance area adjustments by subdivision, is posted at Attendance Area Adjustments. A video of the presentation from the December 10 Board of Education workshop is also available at 204tv.org.
Comments can be sent to 204-enews@ipsd.org.
Subdivision  Current Schools  Proposed Schools   Estes Park Cowlishaw / Hill->Owen / Still Chesapeake Landing Cowlishaw / Still->White Eagle / Still Courtyards Village East Longwood / Granger->Brookdale / Hill  Bristol Station Longwood / Granger->Brooks / Granger Autumn Run Longwood / Granger->Brookdale / Hill Lake Longwood Longwood / Granger->Brookdale / Hill Pebblewood Estates Longwood / Granger->Brookdale / Hill  Abington Trace Young / Granger->Steck / Granger Woodland Lakes Young / Granger->Steck / Granger Ginger Woods Young / Granger->Brooks / Granger Butterfield Oaks Apts. Young / Granger->Brooks / Granger  Cambridge Countryside Young / Granger->Brooks / Granger |
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Post by doctorwho on Dec 15, 2012 12:49:42 GMT -6
Yup, it's here. Interesting to me that 7th graders will be allowed to stay at their current middle school, a luxury that was not afforded my child during the last changes, much to her dismay. Looks like the little ones (elementary) are getting moved abruptly regardless of tenure at their school.
This fall, District 204 hired a firm to conduct a comprehensive demographic study to gain information about projected enrollment throughout the district over the next 5 years. RSP & Associates provided a detailed report that is posted on the district's website.
Based on the report, administrators are recommending elementary attendance area adjustments to ease overcrowding at three elementary schools — Cowlishaw, Longwood and Young. RSP & Associates' projections show these three elementary schools will continue to be overcrowded for the next five years unless adjustments are made. The adjustments would allow the portable classrooms at Young to be removed. Elementary school adjustments would begin with the 2013-14 school year.
The proposal provides relief for these three schools by adjusting the attendance area for approximately 300 students who currently attend Cowlishaw, Longwood and Young. These 300 students would be assigned to five schools -- Brookdale, Brooks, Owen, Steck and White Eagle. Fifth graders in 2013-14 will have the option to stay at their current school.
Middle school adjustments would begin with the 2014-15 school year. At that time, a small number of 6th graders will attend Still instead of Hill and Hill instead of Granger. Seventh and eighth graders in 2014-15 will have the option of remaining in their current middle school.
There will be no changes to high school assignments.
The Board of Education is currently reviewing the proposed adjustments and is expected to vote on the recommendation January 14.
More information, including a list of proposed attendance area adjustments by subdivision, is posted at Attendance Area Adjustments. A video of the presentation from the December 10 Board of Education workshop is also available at 204tv.org.
Comments can be sent to 204-enews@ipsd.org.
Subdivision  Current Schools  Proposed Schools   Estes Park Cowlishaw / Hill->Owen / Still Chesapeake Landing Cowlishaw / Still->White Eagle / Still Courtyards Village East Longwood / Granger->Brookdale / Hill  Bristol Station Longwood / Granger->Brooks / Granger Autumn Run Longwood / Granger->Brookdale / Hill Lake Longwood Longwood / Granger->Brookdale / Hill Pebblewood Estates Longwood / Granger->Brookdale / Hill  Abington Trace Young / Granger->Steck / Granger Woodland Lakes Young / Granger->Steck / Granger Ginger Woods Young / Granger->Brooks / Granger Butterfield Oaks Apts. Young / Granger->Brooks / Granger  Cambridge Countryside Young / Granger->Brooks / Granger Hard to believe this will be it with both Watts and Owen severely under capacity today..... by moving no one to either it tells me one may be looking at closure..keeping option open to combine the two. ( Again sadly for my area- Owen with A/C being the likely choice. This boundary move being voted on now does ZERO to address under utilization at 2 middle schools and MVHS. When is that shoe going to drop ? funny how no one got the option to stay last time when certain board members were Hell bent on screwing certain areas....  |
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Post by doctorwho on Dec 15, 2012 13:04:22 GMT -6
School District 204 mulls attendance zone shifts napervillesun.suntimes.com/16970468-417/school-district-204-mulls-attendance-zone-shifts.htmlBy Susan Frick Carlman scarlman@stmedianetwork.com December 13, 2012 3:24PM Who goes where? Subdivision current schools proposed schools Estes Park Cowlishaw/Hill Owen/Still* Chesapeake Landing Cowlishaw/Still White Eagle/Still Courtyards Village East Longwood/Granger Brookdale/Hill* Bristol Station Longwood/Granger Brooks/Granger Autumn Run Longwood/Granger Brookdale/Hill* Lake Longwood Longwood/Granger Brookdale/Hill* Pebblewood Estates Longwood/Granger Brookdale/Hill* Abington Trace Young/Granger Steck/Granger Woodland Lakes Young/Granger Steck/Granger Ginger Woods Young/Granger Brooks/Granger Butterfield Oaks Apts. Young/Granger Brooks/Granger Cambridge Countryside** Young/Granger Brooks/Granger *Middle school adjustments would not be made until 2014-15. Seventh and eighth graders in 2014-15 will be permitted to stay in their current schools. **Only Scott Lane, Foxmoor Lane and Borkshire Lane. More information is available on the district website, ipsd.org. A video of an administration presentation made to the Board of Education Monday can be found at 204tv.org. Comments can be submitted to 204-enews@ipsd.org. Article Extras View Gallery Updated: December 14, 2012 12:45PM Looming adjustments to some of the attendance zones in Indian Prairie School District 204 have gotten people talking. A consultants’ report to the Board of Education has laid forth recommendations leading to proposed boundary changes that would shift kids in a dozen subdivisions from one elementary school to another in the 2013-14 school year, with middle school students beginning a phased transition a year later. No changes are being suggested for the high school level at this point. The board is expected to vote on the plan Jan. 14. “Numbers last winter indicated that several of our elementary schools were overcrowded and there was a need to look at shifting some of our attendance areas,” board President Susan Rasmus said in an email. “After much discussion, we hired an outside firm, RSP (and Associates), to come in and take a closer look at the demographics of our district, both how they look now and how they are projected to look over the next five years.” District administrators laid out a proposal Monday that would take some 300 students now at Cowlishaw, Longwood and Young elementary schools and move them to Owen, White Eagle, Brookdale, Steck and Brooks schools instead. In 2014-15, middle school shifts are proposed that would move some of the students now at Hill to Still and others from Granger to Hill.
RSP made it clear that the district is not bursting at the seams; the distribution of students just needs to be made more even.
Geez- no kidding |
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Post by macrockett on Dec 22, 2012 15:47:13 GMT -6
www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/aurora/ct-tl-aurora-204enrollment-20121217,0,7595219.story Some D204 schools may see boundary changes
Proposals are scheduled to be discussed at a Jan. 14 District 204 board meetingBy Jack McCarthy Special to the Tribune 9:36 a.m. CST, December 17, 2012 Indian Prairie District 204 officials plan to relieve overcrowding at three elementary district schools with enrollment boundary adjustments beginning with the next school year. Boundary tweaks also are planned for two middle schools in 2014-15. Both proposals are scheduled to be discussed at a Jan. 14 District 204 board meeting. Based on a report conducted by Kansas City-based RSP & Associates, district staff recommended changes at Cowlishaw, Longwood and Young elementary schools for the 2013-14 school year and Hill and Granger middle schools the following year. Ads by Google "We made some adjustments [affecting] less than 1.2 percent of our students," Kathy Pease, assistant superintendent of elementary teaching and learning, said at a recent special board meeting. "These are estimated numbers and they may fluctuate ... but these predictions are based on what happened in the past and where areas continue to move." Proposed changes would affect an estimated 300 elementary students who attend the three schools. They would be dispersed among five different facilities: Brookdale, Brooks, Owen, Steck and White Eagle. Fifth graders would have the option to remain at their current school. Beginning in 2014-15, a "small number" of sixth graders will attend Still Middle School instead of Hill, while others will move from Hill to Granger, according to a District 204 summary. Seventh and eighth graders could choose to stay in their current schools. No high school boundary changes are proposed. "There is significant district-wide elementary capacity, but several facilities need to have a boundary change so their capacity is not exceeded," the RSP & Associates reported noted. It also suggested that Indian Prairie is transitioning from a developing to mature district. It projected stable enrollment of around 28,000 students from kindergarten through high school over the next five years.
The study said 11 schools could be overcrowded in that time frame, including Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools.Eventually, improved economic conditions and a revived housing market could lead to some growth in the district's southern area. "There has been significant preliminary platting of land and plans for new infrastructure on the southwest side of the community," the report stated. "A good deal of that land available for development is in the southern portion of the district, which is also where the bulk of new residential development will likely happen… (But) IPSD 204, is, for all practical purposes, built out."
Copyright © 2012 Chicago Tribune Company, LLC -------------------------------------------------------------- Lots of "duhs" come to mind in reading the above. But overcrowding at the HS level is not one of them, unless there is ongoing shrinking capacity at that level..."
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Post by EagleDad on Dec 22, 2012 18:09:03 GMT -6
The study said 11 schools could be overcrowded in that time frame, including Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools.Honestly I would love to see the information that led the creators of the "study" to conclude that Metea will become overcrowded in the next 5 years (while not mentioning Nequa in the same context). It would be a good read. |
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Post by doctorwho on Jan 6, 2013 7:30:10 GMT -6
www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/aurora/ct-tl-aurora-204enrollment-20121217,0,7595219.story Some D204 schools may see boundary changes
Proposals are scheduled to be discussed at a Jan. 14 District 204 board meetingBy Jack McCarthy Special to the Tribune 9:36 a.m. CST, December 17, 2012 Indian Prairie District 204 officials plan to relieve overcrowding at three elementary district schools with enrollment boundary adjustments beginning with the next school year. Boundary tweaks also are planned for two middle schools in 2014-15. Both proposals are scheduled to be discussed at a Jan. 14 District 204 board meeting. Based on a report conducted by Kansas City-based RSP & Associates, district staff recommended changes at Cowlishaw, Longwood and Young elementary schools for the 2013-14 school year and Hill and Granger middle schools the following year. Ads by Google "We made some adjustments [affecting] less than 1.2 percent of our students," Kathy Pease, assistant superintendent of elementary teaching and learning, said at a recent special board meeting. "These are estimated numbers and they may fluctuate ... but these predictions are based on what happened in the past and where areas continue to move." Proposed changes would affect an estimated 300 elementary students who attend the three schools. They would be dispersed among five different facilities: Brookdale, Brooks, Owen, Steck and White Eagle. Fifth graders would have the option to remain at their current school. Beginning in 2014-15, a "small number" of sixth graders will attend Still Middle School instead of Hill, while others will move from Hill to Granger, according to a District 204 summary. Seventh and eighth graders could choose to stay in their current schools. No high school boundary changes are proposed. "There is significant district-wide elementary capacity, but several facilities need to have a boundary change so their capacity is not exceeded," the RSP & Associates reported noted. It also suggested that Indian Prairie is transitioning from a developing to mature district. It projected stable enrollment of around 28,000 students from kindergarten through high school over the next five years.
The study said 11 schools could be overcrowded in that time frame, including Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools.Eventually, improved economic conditions and a revived housing market could lead to some growth in the district's southern area. "There has been significant preliminary platting of land and plans for new infrastructure on the southwest side of the community," the report stated. "A good deal of that land available for development is in the southern portion of the district, which is also where the bulk of new residential development will likely happen… (But) IPSD 204, is, for all practical purposes, built out."
Copyright © 2012 Chicago Tribune Company, LLC -------------------------------------------------------------- Lots of "duhs" come to mind in reading the above. But overcrowding at the HS level is not one of them, unless there is ongoing shrinking capacity at that level..." I would love to see this 'fantasy' book. Tolkien beware-- this could surpass that. The population numbers are all posted and with elementary down 4-5 years in a row 2-3% each year- and approx 9,000 students only in HS today - how in God's name can Metea and Waubonsie become overcrowded. There is only a few ways these schools could become overcrowded 1. they close one of them (as we have been saying here for years- since we foundplans to do such) - so we only have 2 and a freshman center 2. they lower yet again the printed capacity rate of our schools- which somehow have 'shrunk' 20-25% already since 2005 study for freshman centers 3. We take in even more than the few hundred kids being bussed into Metea from Chicago that we already have 4. We go ahead and stop address searches and just absorb East Aurora HS This is such unadulterated nonsense, once again a pre emptive start to propoganda so that when idiotic thngs are proposed , this has been repeated so many times people actually believe it. you know, like those 10,400 --12,000 high school students, the spliut shifts we have, the sports we had to cut..etc etc..... Fairy tales abound in the 204 realm -- this one might grow to be one of the best yet |
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