Bend-La Pine Schools forming boundary review panel

Bend-La Pine Schools seeks volunteers to join a committee of local stakeholders and staff members who will be tasked with analyzing current school attendance areas, reviewing population forecasts and making recommendations for attendance area adjustments to the superintendent in preparation for the opening of two new schools in 2015.

The committee will be made up of balanced representation of stakeholders and applicants from across the district that will work collaboratively and transparently with an eye on the district as a whole.

Applicants are asked to complete the online application form at located at www.bend.k12.or.us/boundary2014. Interested candidates can also obtain a hard copy of the form at the Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent’s Office located at 520 NW Wall Street, Bend, Oregon, 97701.

Applications are due by Friday, October 3 at 4pm.

“The Attendance Area Review Team will look at ways to adjust current boundaries to ease over-crowding, ensure educational program delivery, and balance enrollment,” said Superintendent Ron Wilkinson. “Additionally, this volunteer committee will make recommendations for the attendance areas for our new elementary school and middle school, which are set to open in September 2015.”

Wilkinson said that 11 of the district’s 14 Bend-area elementary schools and three of the district’s four middle schools are currently near- or over- design capacity. The added space created with the new schools is expected to allow for balancing enrollment at all district schools. However, to achieve that goal, Wilkinson anticipates the attendance areas boundaries for most schools may need to be tweaked.

“For nearly three decades, we have seen an average of nearly 300 additional students enroll in our schools each fall,” said Chief Operations Officer Brad Henry. “As we work to provide the learning environments our students and staff deserve, we have a responsibility to ensure that we seek proactive solutions that ensure balanced enrollment in the face of continuing student enrollment growth.”

More than 17,100 students were enrolled at Bend-La Pine Schools on September 9, an increase of nearly 3,000 new students in the last ten years. According to research completed by Portland State University’s Center for Population Research, the number of students enrolled at Bend-La Pine Schools is expected to climb to over 20,000 by 2024.

Attendance Area Review Committee meetings will take place on Wednesday’s at 4pm beginning October 15 in the Bend-La Pine Schools Board Room located at 520 NW Wall in Bend.

The team is expected to make a final recommendation to the Superintendent in December. The attendance area adjustments will be implemented for the 2015-16 school year.