Parents Hazy on Future of High School Extracurriculars

Parents pressed Ankeny's school superintendent for answers Thursday about where sports facilities will be built and the scope of the attendance areas for two high schools.

A new opened last month, and Ankeny Centennial High School is slated to open in 2013.

About 50 parents gathered in the auditorium of Ankeny High School to listen and give feedback to Superintendent Matthew Wendt. Thursday's meeting was the fourth and final in a series designed to provide parents with an overview of the district's finances, academic achievements and progress on facilities.

Prairie Trail Elementary School is scheduled to open for the 2012 academic year, before the planned opening of Ankeny Centennial in 2013.

"We'd like to say everything just doubles (when ACHS opens) and it's simple until '13," Wendt said.

Decisions about athletics and music programs are more complicated, however, and will be made by the school board with input from the community over the next few months, he said.

"One of the conversations I've heard is about the north-south boundary lines and when or if the board will review them," said Delane Gavin, who is the father of an eighth-grader at Northview Middle School.

Wendt said he would be "hard-pressed" to recommend changes to the boundary, which generally follows First Avenue.

The district will monitor enrollment for both high schools and try to maintain a balance within 100 students, he said. Wendt said the district can reapportion students by redistricting areas with little development, or giving a choice of high schools to students living in areas of low population.

While Wendt said both schools will have quality athletic programs, there is a possibility Ankeny High and Ankeny Centennial will not have the same athletic facilities, he said.

The schools will be otherwise the same except for their positioning on campus, prevalent color themes, and location of automotive classes only at Ankeny Centennial. The classes will be available to students at both high schools.

Cathy Frandson's 8-year-old son is in third grade at Southeast Elementary and loves to swim. She asked Wendt about the swimming and diving programs that will be available for her son when he reaches high school.

Wendt said both schools are designed so they can accommodate swimming pools. However, decisions have not been made regarding whether one or both of the schools will have a pool, or if one would be constructed at a neutral site off campus.

Each pool would cost about $5 million, he said.

Similarly, the board has approved only one varsity football stadium for the two high schools, but has not yet determined when or where the facility will be constructed.

Wendt said he has heard rumors that some parents would move to live within the attendance area of one high school or the other based on their athletic programs.

"We're going to win some ball games at both schools," he said. "It's going to be OK."