05-01-2017 Minutes Community Meeting

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A. Elementary Public Input Patron comments: • Moving kids away from town is hard for working parents • Move special needs programs to Ucon • Discovery needs relief — overcrowding effects both teaching and learning • Discovery staff is concerned how the changes affect families, teachers, students • Class sizes are also large at Iona • Concerns over bus pick up times for Ucon elementary • Align high school and elementary boundaries; difficult for students to flip flop over boundaries • New developments in Iona could also cause overcrowding in Iona • Build bigger elementary schools! • Safety concerns with overcrowded classrooms • Look more at the problems of today, and not so much into the future • Bridgewater area is also growing • Need more information out to the patrons on these issues Explanations: • Moving students north allows for less chance of overcrowding; growth is also happening south of Sunnyside • If students are not moved to available classrooms, adding more trailers is the other option • Boundaries will continue to change as growth continues to happen • Tiebreaker boundaries will be affected by the apartments being built on 15t Street • Bonding for a new elementary or middle school is yet to be decided • Open enrollment is under the principal's discretion; there are currently open -enrolled students at Discovery • The district needs more bus drivers! • All students are D93 students — district wide effort to provide the best for each student; all buildings have caring staff and friends can be made anywhere • Building bigger elementary is not the solution because of scheduling conflicts in the building • 6th grade students will be moved up to middle school only if a middle school is bonded for • Many of the district's elementary schools were built over 10 years ago, as neighborhood schools; today the neighborhoods are larger and expanding and current schools are overcrowded • Recession slowed down the chance to continue building when it was best to do so • Bonding is difficult; can't pass bond on projections. Growth must occur first to determine the sale of the band. The community says, "Don't raise my taxes, but build more schools." • It's a hard balance between bonding and building for growth. The district only builds what the community will support through bonding. Meeting was recessed from 7:46-8:01 p.m. V. Boundary and Enrollment Presentation Chairman Bird invited Scott Woolstenhulme to present information for high school Boundary and enrollment proposals. The recent patron survey resulted in the priority factors for the high school boundaries to include a balance of social -economics, minorities, and students with disabilities. Hillcrest and Bonneville high schools capacities will be smaller than Thunder Ridge. Another major concern of patrons was the traffic flow, involving busses, parents, students, staff, and surrounding community. The high school boundaries will stay intact as the district grows and should not be influenced by increasing growth, A. Secondary Public Input Patron comments: • Bridgewater Elementary students will be split at the high school level; should be in Thunder Ridge boundary • Keep the athletes with the coach • Propose traffic and infrastructure planning with the County • Students that live next door to Bonneville should not be bussed to Thunder Ridge • Change is harder on the parent than on the students