With reportedly little controversy, on May 26 the Northshore School District Board of Directors approved school boundary changes in eight areas of the district.
“We didn’t hear any negative feedback from the community,” said Board Member Susan Buske, who added financial considerations were the primary, but not the only motivation behind the changes.
Probably the biggest move revolves around Arrowhead Elementary School and Bothell’s Carlyle neighborhood. Starting with the next school year, Carlyle-area students will attend Woodmoor Elementary as opposed to Arrowhead.
Arrowhead sits at 6725 Arrowhead Drive in Kenmore, while Woodmoor is located at 12225 N.E. 160th St. in Bothell.
According to information released by the district, the affected students live west of Interstate 405 and northwest of Juanita-Woodinville Way Northeast. Again, according to the district, the change means students will travel approximately one mile to school as opposed to 3.5 miles.
The change will save the district about $10,000 a year in transportation costs.
Buske said at least one Carlyle-area parent spoke in favor of the change. But in terms of how the switch came about, not all those involved are happy.
“I think everyone understands the reasons,” said Janice Kutzera, co-president of Arrowhead’s PTA, which recently was honored as the Outstanding PTA Unit of the Year for Washington. Kutzera said she knows Woodmoor is closer to the Carlyle area than is Arrowhead.
“It just seemed to happen at the last minute,” Kutzera added.
She said moving Carlyle students out of Arrowhead has been discussed in the past and became a fairly big issue. According to Kutzera, an Arrowhead representative to the task force that looks at school boundaries wasn’t even made aware the question was again on the table.
“We were told for two years that this wasn’t going to happen and all of a sudden it does,” Kutzera said.
Kutzera estimates 18 students will change schools. She added PTA leadership is scrambling a bit to fill holes left by the departing parents.
In terms of the number of students involved, the district described the effect of other boundary changes as minimal or nonexistent, at least for now. Buske said that in many cases, students who otherwise might have to change schools under the new boundaries already are using waivers to attend the school closest to their homes.
The district grants waivers to attend schools outside an area’s normal school boundary if parents request a waiver and if there is room at the school parents want their children to attend. In most cases, waivers are used so that students can attend the school closest to home.
An example of a case where waivers minimized the impact of boundary changes, district officials mentioned alterations to the boundaries of Frank Love and Canyon Creek elementary schools, both in Bothell. Buske said because of waivers, few students will be affected, but eliminated bus runs could save the schools $20,000 a year into the future as the neighborhoods surrounding those schools are developed. Some boundary changes were completed specifically in anticipation of future development, such as around the Kenmore Air Harbor.
All in all, the eight changes could save the district roughly $57,000 annually.
