District 303 Looks At Boundary Changes, Closing School

ST. CHARLES, IL – Declining enrollment within St. Charles Unit District 303 has school officials looking to change attendance boundaries for its elementary schools and close one of its schools. If the board votes to close Fox Ridge Elementary School, 1905 East Tyler Road, next month, the 300 students at the school would be relocated to four different schools: Norton Creek, Munhall, Anderson and Lincoln.

And as many as 700 elementary students across the district could be assigned to new schools if the school board OKs its current plan, according to the Daily Herald. Those changes would take effect next school year.

The problem, school officials said, is that the current elementary school boundaries that were created over a decade ago "no longer distribute the student population across the district in an efficient manner." In the 1990s and 2000s, St. Charles saw explosive growth. But today, that growth has slowed. District enrollment dropped from over 14,000 students at its peak to around 12,000 students today.

"We have some schools, like Norton Creek Elementary, that are significantly underutilized while there are others, like Richmond Intermediate, that are reaching capacity," wrote Superintendent Jason Pearson in a letter to parents and the community. "Our enrollment and birth rates are geographically out of balance, with higher birth rates and enrollment in the center of town and on the west side of the district, and with lower enrollments and birth rates on the east side."

District 303 has posted an interactive map to its website that shows, under the district's current proposal, where students would attend school next year according to that family's address. Anyone with questions regarding the planned changes can leave a comment on the district's website.

A community forum, the last of two, will be held at Thompson Middle School at the 6th Grade Center LRC from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 29. The school board will meet at Thompson Middle School from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and will be taking public comments.

The school board is expected to vote on the boundary changes at its Feb. 12 meeting.

More information via the Daily Herald and the District 303 website