Wichita school board may use consultants more

The Wichita school board will consider a proposal tonight to extend its contract with a consulting firm before setting new school boundaries.

The plan calls for the district to pay RSP Associates, an Olathe-based consulting group, up to $160,000 more for guidance in creating boundary proposals and gathering public input.

Since September 2009 the district has paid RSP Associates about $175,000 for services related to setting school attendance boundaries. The company has analyzed housing patterns, enrollment, socioeconomic data and school capacities.

Five new schools — a new high school, two K-8 schools and two elementaries — are under construction as part of a $370 million bond issue and scheduled to be ready for students next fall. If those schools open on time — officials still haven't said whether they will — the district will have to redraw attendance boundaries for much of the district.

Darren Muci, the district's director of operations, said additional guidance from consultants is crucial after several bond projects, including a new high school in southeast Wichita, were put on hold earlier this year.

"We recognize that we need to make some adjustments, and we've determined that the best way for us to get it right is to engage an expert that has done this for other schools," said Muci, who is overseeing boundary changes.

Superintendent John Allison is expected to address board members tonight about boundary changes and present a proposed timeline.

That process — deciding which schools will open and when, considering data, redrawing boundaries, presenting proposals and gathering input — would be on a fast track if the board hopes to approve new boundaries before the Choices Fair in February. That's when Wichita families look at their options and decide from among magnet programs and neighborhood schools.

Denise Wren, the district's chief operations officer, said the timeline is challenging but manageable.

"We're going to do this right," she said. "It's one of the reasons we're getting RSP involved, because the bottom line is we want to make a decision that's best for the entire district and the community."

The board meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the North High Lecture Hall, 1437 Rochester.

This story was originally published September 12, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Wichita school board may use consultants more."