At last night’s board meeting, the McMinnville School Board voted to implement new boundaries in district elementary and middle schools, effective in the 2019-20 school year.
Click to see interactive maps. The changes will also affect current bus routes. Updated routes will be available by fall.
The district’s Boundary Committee, composed of parents and district staff, met several times this spring to review existing boundaries and explore possible changes to address building capacity and future student enrollment.
The committee followed a set of “guiding principles” to form the proposal, including:
- Minimize disruption of students’ established learning programs
- Maintain established neighborhood groupings
- Work to balance enrollment across schools
- Maintain relationship with middle school attendance areas
- Coordinate transportation routes with attendance area
- Consider impacts to the smallest number of families
- Maximize, to the greatest extent possible, proximity to home/walkability (e.g., considering natural boundaries and not having to cross busy streets, railroad tracks)
- Take a district-wide perspective by considering growth trends and enrollment projections
- Design boundaries to be equitable, including socio-economic status, racial make-up, etc.
The McMinnville School District periodically reviews its school attendance boundaries to ensure balanced enrollment within its schools in response to patterns of enrollment growth and/or decline throughout school geographic areas.
The last boundary review was conducted in 2007 prior to the opening of the new Buel Elementary. The recent boundary review was undertaken as the district nears completion of various construction projects; reviews its long-range facility planning processes; and considers updated demographic information related to population growth patterns.
In May, a Community Open House gave families a chance to look over the preliminary proposal and to offer feedback, both in person and online. The committee final meeting considered this feedback in forming the final proposal to the superintendent.
6/11/2019