Bend school boundary proposals released
The Bend-La Pine Schools Boundary Review Committee released its proposed preliminary recommendations for changes to the school enrollment attendance areas on Tuesday and opened an online survey as they held the first of three public meetings to gather community input.
The committee members will discuss the maps and listen to feedback from the community at two more public information sessions this week.
The lines are being redrawn as a new elementary and middle school are due to open in the coming year.
Community members are also invited to submit feedback in an online survey, where the maps are available for review:
www.bend.k12.or.us/School_Proposals_Survey (English) and www.bend.k12.or.us/School_Proposals_Survey_SP (Spanish)
The information sessions are taking place at the following times and locations:
• Tuesday, Jan. 20, 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Mountain View High School in the commons
• Wednesday, Jan. 21, 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Bear Creek Elementary School in the gym
• Thursday, Jan. 22, 5 to 6:30 p.m. at High Lakes Elementary School in the gym
A Spanish language translator will be on hand at all three events.
“Our 30-member committee has been working diligently to thoughtfully incorporate comments from the community into these recommendations,” said Assistant Superintendent Jay Mathisen.
The committee also released additional details of preliminary attendance proposals.
The committee is recommending that students who will be in fifth, eighth, 11th or 12th grades for the 2015-16 school year would be grandfathered, which means they could choose to stay at their current schools (transportation would not be provided).
In the preliminary proposal, students outside those grade levels would be considered with a completed Attendance Area Change Request form. Forms are available at local schools and at www.bend.k12.or.us. The requests are due March 1.
The committee will meet after the public information sessions and consider input from the community. At that point, the committee will make recommendations to Superintendent Ron Wilkinson, who is expected to make a final boundary decision in February.
