Plan would establish attendance boundaries in Maize school district

Maize school district leaders are considering a plan to draw geographical boundary lines that would determine which middle or high school students attend.

After years of uncertainty and debate over student placement, a proposal presented to Maize school board members this week would establish boundaries beginning with sixth- and ninth-graders and students new to the district for the 2017-18 school year.

“This is far better than what exists now,” Maize superintendent Chad Higgins said of the plan.

“It provides some long-term certainty, so … this is something that students and staff and parents aren’t constantly dealing with,” Higgins said. “Even before I got here, I felt like it was a cloud over the district.”

Unlike most school districts, Maize has no geographical attendance boundaries that determine where a child goes to school. Since the district’s second high school opened in 2009, district leaders have let families choose – or at least request – which middle or high school their children attend.

At times, capacity concerns have prompted the district to deny some families’ preferences, leading to appeals and criticism of the placement system.

According to a plan presented by a 20-member task force Monday, district officials will spend the next few months drawing proposed attendance boundaries. Board members voted Monday to spend $12,000 on computer software to aid that process.

Beginning next school year, middle and high school students would be assigned based on their primary address. The plan calls for a feeder pattern connecting Maize Middle School with Maize High and Maize South Middle with Maize South High.

Higgins said he supports the committee’s proposal, which would go into effect next fall and allow only this year’s middle- and high-schoolers to continue at their current schools.

Younger siblings starting middle or high school in 2017 would attend their boundary-assigned schools, Higgins said. Families would have the option to request that an older student change buildings to attend school with the younger sibling.

“What had always been hoped (is) that wherever an older sibling is, the rest of them get to go to that school,” Higgins said. “That could go on for a long time with the number of families we have.”

Maize would continue its current practice of assigning elementary students to schools based on enrollment, class size, siblings and other factors. Elementary schools would not be tied to particular middle or high schools.

In addition, parents employed by the Maize district – not including substitute teachers or Rule 10 coaches and sponsors – could request to have their children placed in any building.

Higgins said he expects some residents will oppose the new plan, depending how and where boundary lines are drawn. He intends to host a series of community meetings this fall and will continue gathering feedback via the district’s website and other avenues.

Short-term unrest and opposition may be the cost of finding a long-term solution on student placement, Higgins said.

“I was hearing from students and parents and staff members about the pressure to pick a school, that it was really tough on them,” he said. “That perceived recruiting, it really kind of pitted our schools against each other, and that really shouldn’t exist in a district.

“It’s OK to play against each other on a Friday night, but not routinely, not daily.”

For more information about the proposed policy, as well as a series of questions and answers, visit the placement page on the Maize district’s website, www.usd266.com/studentplacement. To ask a question or offer feedback, email placement@usd266.com.

“We want people to know we didn’t take this lightly,” Higgins said. “We’ve been very intentional about what we can do to protect families the most, but also (adopt) a policy we can manage numbers-wise.”

This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Plan would establish attendance boundaries in Maize school district."