Second Crack at School Boundaries

11/03/2009

The Seattle School District is taking a second crack at its school boundaries. The new student assignment plan will decide where students go to school based on their addresses.

A few changes pop out when you compare the new high school maps to the first drafts.

The attendance boundary between Chief Sealth and West Seattle High Schools has moved. The district re–drew it to give Chief Sealth the same boundary as Denny Middle School because the two schools will share a location.

Ingraham High School picked up the area around the Jackson Park Golf Course in North Seattle.

And Roosevelt in Northeast Seattle added students who live west of Greenlake. And it picked up students who live as far north as 85th street, instead of 80th.

Ballard High's northern boundary remains where it was: Northwest 85th. Even though Roosevelt took those Greenlake students away.

Libros: "It's all about density."

Tracy Libros is enrollment manager for Seattle Public Schools.

Parents in Greenwood and Broadview begged the district to move the Ballard line north. But even with Roosevelt picking up some of Ballard's students, Libros said that wasn't possible.

Libros: "We couldn't. Because of functional capacity. It would have put Ballard too high."

But Libros said Roosevelt had room for more students. Even though it's one of the most popular schools in the district.

Libros says district personnel considered every suggested change to the proposed school boundaries. And she said if they could make it, they did, no matter how few people asked.

The district will hold meetings to get more feedback from parents before the school board is scheduled to vote on the boundaries on November 18. The new boundaries will affect students entering Kindergarten, 6th grade, and 9th grade next school year.

I'm Phyllis Fletcher, KUOW News.

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