Students file in and out of the gym for an assembly at Glenwood Heights Primary School. The student body splits into two groups during assemblies because not all of the approximately 800 students can fit in the gym at once. Battle Ground’s school board is considering boundary change options that would alleviate overcrowding at the campus. (Alisha Jucevic/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
BATTLE GROUND — After months of work, the Battle Ground Public Schools board of directors is slated next week to decide how to tackle overcrowding at the district’s south end.
More than 400 students will be moved to different schools beginning next school year as the district looks to ease pressure on its south end campuses, especially the packed Glenwood-Laurin campus. After a series of public forums and the collection of about 440 online surveys, the board is tentatively scheduled to decide between three proposals on Monday.
But the work won’t end with Monday’s decision. Bus routes will need to be redrawn, families will need to be alerted and open houses must be scheduled so students can visit their new schools.
“It’s such a complex issue that affects so many things,” board President Troy McCoy said. “It’s not going to be an easy decision for the board.”
The board is considering three options to address the overcrowding. They are:
• The Southern Shift Hybrid would move Glenwood-Laurin students who live in the easternmost edge of the school boundary to Tukes Valley Primary and Middle School, while students in the northern section of the school boundary will move to Maple Grove School. A small number of Tukes Valley Primary and Middle School students will be redirected to Captain Strong Primary School and Chief Umtuch Middle School. A small number of Captain Strong and Chief Umtuch Middle School students will be diverted to Daybreak Primary and Middle School. If adopted, 429 students would be affected.
• The Maple Grove K-4 Conversion will convert Maple Grove from a K-8 campus to a K-4 campus. Maple Grove’s middle school students would be split between Tukes Valley and Daybreak middle schools while absorbing some Glenwood Heights Primary School students. Daybreak Primary and Middle School will also pick up a few dozen elementary and middle school students from Maple Grove and Pleasant Valley Primary and Middle School. If adopted, 487 students would be affected.
• The N.E.W. Boundaries Adjusted proposal changes boundaries for all primary and middle schools except for the Pleasant Valley and Yacolt-Amboy campuses, shuffling students throughout the south end schools. If adopted, 741 students would be affected.
At a community forum at Daybreak Primary School on Wednesday, Deputy Superintendent Denny Waters pointed out that the options will better use space in north campus schools, which are expected to see slow growth in the coming years.
“All those have empty classrooms that sit, not being used,” Waters said.
Glenwood-Laurin, meanwhile, is packed with hundreds of students in excess of their designed capacity. Still hundreds more are expected.
A district-commissioned report by E.D. Hovee & Co. Economic and Development Services suggests Glenwood Heights Primary could see an additional 378 to 445 students over the next decade, while Laurin Middle is expected to add 381 to 442 students in that same period.
Superintendent Mark Ross said about 60 percent of Glenwood Heights Primary School classrooms meet in portables. That forces students to walk up to 10 minutes outdoors to attend specialized classes like music or art, cutting into instructional time.
“It’s really untenable. It’s not fair to me, and it’s not equitable,” Ross said.
Battle Ground voters twice rejected school construction bonds last year. If approved, the district would have rebuilt south end campuses and constructed a new K-8 campus. Waters noted that boundary shifts are only temporary fixes and that growth can be difficult to predict.
“It’s difficult for us to make this decision, change these boundaries and predict exactly how long this will last,” Waters said. “We have to, in my estimation, pass a bond at some time to relieve overcrowding in this district. That’s just a have-to.”
The school board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at the Lewisville Campus, Room C-26, 406 N.W. Fifth Ave., Battle Ground.
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