The impetus for these boundary changes stems from significant enrollment imbalances within the district. The board referenced the 2023 “Building a Better Future” referendum, which led to the approval of a new elementary school and expansions to Maple Grove Senior High School. With the last significant boundary changes occurring over 15 years ago, the board emphasized that changes would be limited to elementary and middle schools, affecting fewer families while keeping high schools unchanged. The core planning team, established in the previous summer, engaged in community outreach through multiple informational meetings. This effort was evidenced by over 60,000 views on the boundaries website since January and numerous inquiries from community members via hotlines.

The final recommended scenario, amended scenario 2A, incorporated key adjustments such as switching part of Edinbrook’s boundary to OIO Middle School and preserving the Sundance neighborhood within Fernbrook Elementary’s boundaries. The strengths of this scenario include a low number of changes to existing assignments, functionality within the school system, and adherence to community feedback, with all but one school building remaining within their own attendance boundaries. This ensures students’ proximity to schools.

Following approval, updates will be communicated to families, staff, and community members. Adjustments will also be necessary for special education assignments and transportation routing, and one elementary school is expected to shift its start and end times to accommodate new busing schedules. A staffing process will also commence, with some staff members transferring to different district schools to align with the new boundaries. The district aims to manage this transition effectively.

The board members commended the transparency and responsiveness of the planning team, recognizing the challenges in managing such a complicated process. They emphasized the importance of building trust through transparency and responsiveness to community needs. Principals present during the discussion expressed satisfaction with how community feedback was gathered and implemented, highlighting improvements such as allowing fifth and eighth graders to complete their school years in their current schools.

In addition to boundary changes, the board discussed strategic goals, including the elimination of redundancies to provide clear data reflecting the district’s alignment with strategic priorities. Vision cards were introduced as a tool for tracking and communicating the district’s progress, and Dr. Bass introduced a system strategy snapshot outlining priority strategies, expected outcomes, and measures.

The board also addressed community engagement, with strategies to ensure timely and accessible communication. The expected outcome was to achieve over 90% of district communications being timely and accessible, with strategies including implementing a district communication plan and school communication plans. The discussion touched on the necessity of having a manageable scope for initiatives to avoid overwhelm.

Communication tools like Talking Points and mass notification systems were noted for their role in enhancing engagement with families, with the report highlighting a median message delivery rate of 86%. Efforts were made to ensure multilingual communication, with specialists ensuring accurate messaging.

The board also reviewed a staff stakeholder survey, which showed an overall improvement in positive responses, particularly from staff who felt there was space to provide feedback regarding their scholars. The survey results revealed variations in responses by demographic, with Asian families rating their experience highest at 84%. Engagement strategies were also evaluated, with a focus on empowering schools to develop their own engagement capacities.