New Boundaries Raise Issues – by Natalie Frost

As a parent key communicator for Dakota Middle School, I attended last week’s meeting at General Beadle Elementary and the first half of the Board of Education’s study session on Thursday, April 30. I am very impressed with General Beadle and proud of our board and administration for believing in this concept and bringing it about!  This school can only do good things for our community, and I believe that we will reap the benefits for years to come. I also support the improvements proposed for Central High School.

When it comes to the changes in school attendance boundaries being proposed by the Administration, I have some concerns and some questions. Under the current proposal, South Middle School’s projected total students would increase substantially. I wonder if this is necessary given that North and Southwest are not projected to be full.

If Rapid City continues to grow South and East, will the Southwest attendance area continue to move East? From my reading of the recommendations offered by the MGT consultants, I thought that many of Dakota’s students would go to North and the rest to Southwest, with only a handful going to South.  Have the consultants’ recommendations been explored and rejected?  Am I misreading the report?  Does the Administration believe that it will be less expensive to build one school with twice the capacity rather than two smaller schools (one at South, one in Rapid Valley)?

I know that cost effectiveness is important, but it should not be the only consideration. What does the research show? At what size does the quality of education suffer?  I am also concerned that the proposed redistricting will hurt our downtown community. If the West Boulevard area students go to Southwest and then to Stevens, we will lose many of the students at Central that can actually walk to school. I know many families in the Boulevard area who live where they live so that they can be close to work, school etc. If Dakota is closed, Wilson is closed, and the neighborhood is redistricted to Southwest and Stevens, this area will change greatly. These changes will effect our downtown area and property values.

I live south of town at Hart Ranch. Under the current plan my children will be redistricted to Southwest Middle School, and Steven’s High School. I have an 8th grader and a 5th grader.  Will there be some sort of grandfathering, so that my child does not start at one high school and finish at another, or so I don’t have to have two children in two different high schools?

In a perfect world my child’s middle school would not be slated for closure.  Our experience over the last three years at Dakota has been positive and rewarding. I wish my second son was not entering a school where parents are transferring their children out before they are transferred, and teachers and administrators are concerned for their positions. I feel like the closing of Dakota is a done deal, at least in the board/administration’s mind and possibly the best use of district space in the long run.  It would be nice if my children’s education didn’t suffer for it.   I do not want to give the impression with the comments below, that I am perfectly happy with Dakota’s closure, if there is still something to be done about it I would rather concentrate my efforts there. 

I will continue to follow the progress on the redistricting proposals. I know that this will not be an easy transition, but I am willing to listen and learn, and then share my thoughts.