The Jefferson City School District has hosted one of two events for community members to learn about the district's process of redrawing boundary lines and possible scenarios for changes.
The district hosted its first public meeting Monday at Capital City High School. The event included tables with maps and information about the four preliminary attendance area changes the JC Schools Boundary Line Advisory Committee is proposing. The tables also had QR codes to a survey for community members to provide feedback about the different scenarios.
There will be a similar meeting from 5:30-7:30 p.m. today at Jefferson City High School in the cafeteria. The meetings are open-house style to allow attendees to come and go.
JC Schools began assessing its school boundary lines last month in accordance with Board Policy JC, which states the district "shall do a formal review of the geographic attendance areas designated for each school in the district at a minimum of every three years, or as deemed necessary by the Board of Education or superintendent."
JC Schools has partnered with Cooperative Strategies, a national K-12 planning firm, to complete this work.
The JC Schools Boundary Line Advisory Committee and Cooperative Strategies created the four scenarios for different boundary lines after reviewing current JC Schools boundaries, enrollment data and trends. The committee includes representatives from each elementary school boundary and is composed of parents, staff members and other at-large community members.
These meetings allow community members to learn more about the boundary line process. Attendees had the opportunity to speak to the Boundary Line Advisory Committee members, district staff and Cooperative Strategies representatives.
Superintendent Larry Linthacum said the goal of the meetings is to gather community input before determining a final recommendation, as the scenarios could change based on community feedback. He said he received many questions from parents at the event about what impact the potential boundary line changes would have on their families.
"We'll listen to concerns and questions and encourage people to do the survey," he said. "We want their input. ... We'll work through these scenarios, have conversations and take their input going forward because these scenarios are just a starting spot that Cooperative Strategies gave us. I anticipate there will continue to be tweaks and maybe major changes."
The committee will use the feedback it receives from the surveys to craft a final recommendation, which will then go to Linthacum for review and approval. If Linthacum approves, it will go to the Board of Education for final approval.
The committee will present the final recommendation to the Board of Education in January, and the board is expected to vote on whether to approve the final recommendation in February.
Once a plan is approved, the district will notify those who will be impacted, according to the district's website. If approved, any changes will go into effect at the beginning of next school year.
All boundaries have the potential to be adjusted as the committee is evaluating the boundaries in all schools, locations and grades in the district.
An online presentation and survey is available online for those unable to attend the community meetings. The survey will remain open until Dec. 2.
The committee encourages community members to complete a survey, whether they would be impacted by boundary line changes or not. The more feedback the committee receives, the more informed they will be when crafting a recommendation to the Board of Education.
To fill out the survey and view more information about the process and scenarios, visit coopstratprojects.com/jcschools.