Elementary Facilities
January 24, 2008 The School Board took action on elementary facility options on January 23, authorizing construction of elementary 15 on the Sammamish Plateau, to open in 2010. The Board also directed the Boundary Committee to boundary 15 elementary schools, meaning that Clark will remain a neighborhood school; administrators were asked to continue carefully monitoring enrollment numbers and report to the Board as projections become clearer. The complete discussion is available via podcast.
January 15, 2008 The Issaquah School Board received more information about elementary facility options and heard public input from several citizens at last week’s business meeting.
- Complete podcast of the meeting.
- Clarifying questions and answers based on Board and community questions.
- Historical look at how District enrollment projections and actual enrollment numbers have correlated.
- 9 a.m. Saturday, January 19: The Board will meet at the Administration Building, 565 N.W. Holly St., to look at district maps and plan out a route before embarking on a bus tour of corridor and Plateau schools. The Board will consider current boundary configurations and visit the land earmarked for the new 15th elementary schools. Community members are welcome to ride the bus with Board members or follow between stopping points in their cars. (See update above.)
- 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 23, Administration Building: The Board will discuss elementary facility options as part of its regular meeting agenda and could take action on authorizing construction of Elementary 15. A work-study session on this topic is scheduled for 6 p.m.
- 7 p.m. Wednesday, February 6, Administration Building: The Board will discuss elementary facility options as part of its regular meeting agenda and could take action to determine the number of elementary schools (14 or 15) to be included in the upcoming boundary review process. A work-study session on this topic will likely be scheduled for 6 p.m.
December 14, 2007 The School Board held a work-study session on Wednesday, December 12, to continue its discussion of elementary facility options. The Board began to devise a process to make the decision; that conversation will continue at the Board’s business meeting on Wednesday, January 9.
Audience members also provided public input during the regular business meeting.
Podcast of the public comments
While gathering data such as enrollment and growth projection for the comprehensive boundary review set to begin early in 2008, administrators discovered a potential problem with the current plans for school construction as approved by the voters in the 2006 bond measure. Because District growth is projected to plateau and decline within the coming years, the total elementary enrollment number will likely only be enough to warrant 14 elementary schools, not the 15 that would occur after building the bonded elementary school on the Sammamish Plateau. However, our current schools are not located in the right location to accommodate our densest student populations. Specifically, Clark Elementary can only fill half of its capacity from neighborhood students, while elementary schools on the Plateau are at or over capacity.
At a work-study session on November 28, the Issaquah School Board received information and discussed the superintendent’s preferred option to fix this problem: Closing Clark Elementary while building the new elementary school to relieve crowding on the Plateau. Administrators showed several scenarios, such as operating both Clark and the new elementary and operating only Clark, and discussed how these could impact finances and educational program in the future. The School Board asked the superintendent to bring more information to its next business meeting, 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 12, at the Administration Building, so the conversation can continue.
The School Board will make an elementary facilities decision before the Boundary Review Committee convenes. The Board will discuss a process at the next meeting, but it anticipates taking the necessary time to make a careful and well-researched decision about elementary schools, even if that means moving the start of the boundary committee back.
For more information, e-mail Sara Niegowski or send comments to the School Board.
November 28 School Board meeting materials:
- Podcast of the complete discussion
- Conceptual elementary boundary maps
Map files are large and may take time to load and display.
Zoom in to find your location. - Handout: How each scenario fits boundary parameters
- Handout: Enrollment and school capacity data(note: enrollment numbers include special programs)
- Districts receive funding according to student enrollment. If the District’s student population plateaus and declines, that will have a significant impact on revenue.
- Bond money can only be used to build schools, not to operate them. Therefore, the money earmarked to build a school could never be used for things such as teacher salaries, textbooks, or other operations.
- Each elementary school costs about $620,000 in overhead costs (principal, food services, utilities, library services, etc.) to operate.
- The maps above DO NOT indicate actual boundaries. They are conceptual ranges meant to illustrate, roughly, how the District might look in each scenario.
- To generate enrollment information and projections, administrators use computer models that locate where every student lives; continual in-depth conversations with municipalities and builders; historical generation factors; county birth statistics and cohort survival rate; and economic trends.