Attendance Boundary Discussion Could Send Students to Different Schools

Last year’s study of schools and facilities in Rapid City highlighted the fact that while some schools are overcrowded, others have surplus capacity. The consultants recommended that the District redraw school attendance boundaries to rebalance the distribution of students. For the first time since the report was released, the Board of Education will meet in a public study session on April 30 to consider this issue and the administration’s recommendations.

According to the report prepared by MGT and released last June, overcrowded schools (with high utilization rates on the chart above) included Canyon Lake, Corral Drive, and South Park Elementary schools, as well as Central High School. Schools nearing peak capacity included Grandview, Knollwood Heights, and Valley View Elementary schools, and Stevens High School. Schools with significant surplus capacity included Black Hawk, General Beadle, and South Canyon Elementary schools; along with North, Southwest, and West Middle schools. Given the surplus capacity in the middle schools, particularly, MGT recommended that the District close Dakota Middle School, and this recommendation is likely to figure in the Board’s discussion.

MGT’s calculation of the capacity of a given building took a number of factors into account including what teachers were trying to teach and to whom. They considered appropriate student-teacher ratios for specific grade levels. They factored in the size of the classrooms in a given building. They also looked at how scheduling (especially for middle and high schools) affects the demand for classrooms at certain times and for different purposes. They also understood that not every class will always have the maximum potential number of students. At the high schools, for example, required classes may have more demand than electives. They also accounted for the fact that some subject areas (science, for example) may demand more square feet per student than other courses (English or French, for example). 

Impact on Budgets and Quality of Education

Getting the right number of students in a given school is critical to both the quality of education and the efficient use of the District’s general fund and capital outlay dollars. When enrollment is too low, the relative cost of the staff tends to be higher. When enrollment is too high, systems and instruction start to break down and the quality of education may be compromised.

Still, moving students from one building to another can often be difficult. The move can unsettle students by putting them in an unfamiliar environment and separating them from their  friends. A boundary change can also raise new transportation issues for parents. Tears and fears can sometimes be avoided by phasing in the boundary change so that it only affects incoming students. But this strategy can be difficult if busing is involved.

Parents with students in schools that MGT determined to be overcrowded or nearing capacity will want to pay attention to the Board’s conversation regarding boundary changes. The public is welcome to attend the Board Study Session which will start at 5:30 p.m. on April 30 on the Third Floor of the City/School Administration Building at 300 Sixth Street. For more information, contact Shirley Fletcher in the Superintendent’s Office at 394-4031.