Redistricting Plans Halted; Should Iowa City School District Split?

It's an unlikely move, but some local parents are talking about splitting up the Iowa City Community School district.

“It usually comes up when people are getting frustrated with the lack of movement — I shouldn’t even say movement — the back and forth related to whether or not another comprehensive high school is going to be built on the north side,” North Liberty parent Marisa Keeney told The Gazette.

The tension stems from redistricting. For years, the district has struggled with how to ease overcrowding and demographic inequality at its high schools and a few of its elementary schools.

At Tuesday night's school board meeting, board members accepted Superintendent Steve Murley's proposal to halt redistricting plans for now, according to the Press-Citizen.

Moves like that frustrate some in North Liberty. Students there already have to travel about 20 minutes to get to an overcrowded .

Even though state education officials say splitting the district up is unlikely, is it a good idea? Should North Liberty have its own schools and make its own education decisions? And what would it mean for Iowa City to lose one of the fastest-growing parts of its school district? Let us know in the comments.