Changes coming to Bend-La Pine attendance areas

Changes could be coming for your children in the next school year, in terms of where they attend school.

Bend La Pine Schools are taking a look at attendance areas across the district.

With a new elementary school in north Bend set for completion in fall of 2019, some students may be heading to new schools in the new year.

With the growth of Central Oregon, the school district is working to keep up with those changes.

A volunteer team has been put together to determine how the school district is going to proceed with these changes.

But they’re wanting to make sure that the public has their voice heard, which is why they held a public meeting Monday evening at Sky View Middle School to hear from parents.

Right now, they’re in the planning stages, and they hope to keep families in the loop throughout the whole process.

At the open house meeting, Tasha McFarland told NewsChannel 21 she and her family live near the new elementary school that is being built on the north end of Bend, and she is also part of the committee that will help decide how to realign the attendance areas across the city.

Because there is a new school to be put in, they are looking to balance the attendance numbers across the elementary schools in the district.

McFarland said while it may create changes for families, in the end it will be a good thing for the schools.

“It’s likely that our family will have to change schools, and it’s likely that families in our neighborhood possibly could change schools, to the new school,” she said. “But it is so exciting to have a new school in Bend, and just the educational opportunities that it gives to see class sizes decrease and have more facilities in Bend, it’s a wonderful opportunity. So I’m glad to be part of this process to give kids this opportunity.”

There are going to be two more opportunities for parents to be a part of the process.

There will be meetings on Dec. 4 and Dec. 6 where the committee will present the progress that they have made in re-aligning the attendance areas.

The committee is expected to make its final recommendation to the superintendent in January.

The approved attendance areas will then go into effect in the fall of 2019.

Learn more here: https://www.bend.k12.or.us/boundaries.