School District To Redraw Boundaries

Some Fair Oaks students may attend different schools than their siblings or parents, after San Juan Unified School District redraws its boundaries.

Last week, the Board of Education approved new boundaries for schools in the Arden-Arcade area. The boundaries for the remaining schools are expected to be approved in June, said Ruth Meyer, a spokesperson for the school district.

The proposed boundary changes reconfigure attendance districts so each middle school, or school incorporating K-8 education, feeds into one high school.

The new alignment “would allow teachers and staff to better collaborate and ensure students are prepared for their transition to the high school experience,” according to the school district.

San Juan Unified recently ended transportation for most students in the district in an effort to reduce its budget. The action makes it even more important that students are assigned to schools close to their homes.

“With the elimination of non-mandated home to school transportation beginning in the 2011-2012 school year, adjusting high school boundaries is necessary to allow more students to attend a high school closer to their home,” the district states on its Web site.

For Bella Vista High School, the proposed boundary will mirror Andrew Carnegie Middle School. Children who attend Carnegie, Twin Lakes K-8 and Orangevale K-8 will feed into Bella Vista. The new boundaries would mean all students who attend the middle schools will complete high school at Bella Vista if they remain in the area. Currently, some students are sent to other high schools.

The proposed boundary for Del Campo High School will be nearly identical to the current attendance area for John Barrett Middle School. Gold River K-8 will also feed entirely into Del Campo, along with the area south of Madison Avenue between Manzanita and San Juan Avenue.

The school district has held five community forums to solicit input from parents, students and teachers. Final recommendations for the new boundaries will be available on the school district’s Web site by May 20. The Board of Education is expected to take final action on the plan June 14 and the new boundaries will be effective when school starts in Fall 2012.

Although students will be assigned to a particular school based on the new boundaries, parents will have the option to send their students to the high school of their choice. However, enrollment requests will be granted based on a lottery system each year.

In the past, San Juan Unified School District has been able to grant 100 percent of placement requests, according to the district.

Programs such as special education will not be impacted by the new boundaries. Special education students will continue to be placed in the schools that best fit their individual needs.

Students currently enrolled at a high school would not allowed to continue attending, and would not be affected by the new boundaries.