[0:10] herart I'm an assistant superintendent [0:12] of secondary schools in the AIO Area [0:15] School District and we're so pleased to [0:18] have all of you here tonight to learn [0:20] more about the attendance boundary [0:23] proposed [0:24] changes we have a lot of information to [0:27] share with you this first half hour of [0:29] the evening even and some of the topics [0:32] that we'll be going over include a [0:34] little bit about who we are as a school [0:37] district in AIO area schools what an [0:40] attendance boundary is why attendance [0:44] boundaries need changing the change [0:47] process timeline the parameters used to [0:51] form the proposed scenarios the proposed [0:54] scenarios and details surrounding them [0:57] the transition plan and your opportunity [1:00] ities to share thoughts tonight this [1:02] will include splitting into small groups [1:05] to share your feedback and to ask [1:07] questions at the end of our presentation [1:10] as we share information in the next 30 [1:13] minutes please make sure to make notes [1:16] of any comments or questions that you [1:19] will want to share afterward in your [1:21] small [1:23] group before we get started I want to [1:26] take a minute to talk about one thing [1:29] that we're striving to do in oio Area [1:31] School the last couple of years we've [1:34] been working towards becoming one [1:37] Community for all where all voices are [1:40] heard and valued and this means all of [1:43] our stakeholders all our students our [1:46] staff our parents our caregivers and our [1:50] community members played an important [1:52] role in our district you should feel [1:55] seen and appreciated as part of our oio [1:59] area school's family always whether [2:02] that's today tomorrow or five weeks from [2:06] now you are all important to [2:09] us and the main way that we ensure all [2:14] voices are heard and valued is through a [2:17] concept called holding space holding [2:21] space means that we are willing to walk [2:23] alongside another person in whatever [2:26] Journey they're on without judging them [2:30] making them feel inadequate trying to [2:33] fix them or trying to impact the outcome [2:37] when we hold space for other people we [2:40] open our hearts offer unconditional [2:42] support and let go of judgment and [2:46] control so tonight as we enter our space [2:50] together please be respectful and [2:54] understand that each person has their [2:56] own narrative and lived experience and [2:59] please be inclusive of all such an [3:02] environment will allow everyone to be [3:05] their authentic self and to be valued [3:08] and heard this will help us build a [3:11] collaborative Community as we venture [3:14] through this attendance boundary change [3:17] process thank you in advance for your [3:20] help with [3:22] this so let's take a quick quick look at [3:26] some facts surrounding our district AIO [3:29] area schools encompasses all or parts of [3:33] eight communities that ranges from [3:36] Dayton Rogers and corkran in the far [3:40] Northwest two parts of Plymouth to the [3:43] South and then Brooklyn Center to the [3:45] east the two largest communities we [3:48] serve are Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove [3:51] with the city of AIO in the center [3:55] about 160,000 community members live [4:00] within this entire area we are the fifth [4:03] largest school district in the state [4:05] serving approximately 21,000 students [4:09] and more than [4:11] 15,000 of our students choose to utilize [4:15] the transportation services offered that [4:18] equates to nearly [4:21] 36,000 bus routes we have a total of 31 [4:25] school buildings in AIO area schools [4:29] current currently there are 24 [4:31] traditional elementary middle and high [4:34] schools and we have seven special [4:37] program sites including an area Learning [4:40] Center and early childhood centers soon [4:44] we're going to have a 302 School [4:46] building and thanks to our community [4:49] support of building a better future in [4:52] 2023 a new elementary school is being [4:56] built in the very northwest corner of [4:59] the district [5:00] and it's set to open in the fall of [5:04] 2026 our school buildings are between 24 [5:08] and 100 years old the sizes of each [5:12] building vary because of the different [5:14] time periods in which they were built [5:17] which has created capacity level [5:19] differences amongst our district schools [5:23] this is most notable at the elementary [5:26] level the older schools tend to be [5:29] smaller and the newer schools are a [5:31] little bit larger the school buildings [5:34] were also placed where Community growth [5:36] was being experienced during those [5:39] different eras and because of space [5:42] being available in a general sense [5:46] Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center tend [5:49] to be more established neighborhoods and [5:52] Maple Grove Dayton and Plymouth are more [5:56] growing areas and one last fun fact all [6:00] of these school buildings are spread out [6:02] on [6:03] 703 acres of [6:06] land it's important for us to know that [6:10] our community members feel that we're [6:12] doing a good job at achieving our [6:14] mission and the great news for us is [6:17] that feedback continues to show that our [6:20] community thinks highly of us and has [6:23] strong support for what's being done in [6:26] a recent survey 82% [6:29] of survey respondents rated us as either [6:33] good or excellent on the quality of [6:35] education at AIO area schools [6:39] 87% indicated that they believe that all [6:43] or most of our student needs are being [6:46] met and [6:47] 84% said they're proud of our schools [6:51] and would recommend them to [6:54] others so now let's dive into attendance [6:57] boundaries some of the language we're [6:59] using to share about this change may be [7:02] a bit confusing so we want to be sure [7:06] it's clear and understandable as you [7:08] interact with the information so what [7:11] exactly is an attendance boundary an [7:15] attendance boundary is the geographical [7:18] area from which students are eligible to [7:21] attend a district school this means that [7:25] your household address is assigned in [7:28] elementary school School a middle school [7:31] and a high school so in essence this [7:34] boundary process change may change the [7:38] elementary Andor the middle school that [7:41] your household is currently set to [7:44] attend and a quick note as a result of [7:48] attendance boundary changes students may [7:51] be moved between school buildings within [7:54] our district but attendance boundary [7:58] changes will not impact which students [8:01] are assigned to attend oio area schools [8:06] versus attending any of the surrounding [8:09] districts such as an Noah hanapin Yetta [8:13] Robinsdale [8:15] Etc you may be wondering why attendance [8:19] boundary changes now most simply it has [8:22] to do where our students are going and [8:25] what our schools can hold this can [8:29] obvious viously change from year to year [8:31] or from decade to decade the enrollment [8:34] and capacity management advisory [8:37] committee or EAC has been monitoring [8:41] enrollment shifts in conjunction in [8:43] conjunction with our school building [8:45] capacities for the last several years [8:49] their most repeat uh recent reports have [8:52] detailed that is significant enrollment [8:55] imbalance exists and that it's to the [8:58] point that should be addressed [9:01] specifically there is significant growth [9:04] in Northwest portions of the district [9:07] future Housing and Redevelopment are [9:10] also expected in these same areas in [9:14] addition to this there are also some [9:17] district schools that are under [9:20] capacity eac's work helped to inform our [9:24] 2023 building a better future referendum [9:28] and building a better Futures oversight [9:30] task force agreed with eac's suggestions [9:34] an additional facility space became a [9:37] part of the [9:39] 2023 referendum as a result of that work [9:43] again thanks to our community support of [9:46] building a better future in [9:48] 2023 a new elementary school and [9:52] additions to Maple Grove Senior High [9:55] were approved to address space [9:58] constraints [10:01] during the 2023 building a better future [10:05] referendum it was additionally noted [10:08] that attendance boundary changes were [10:10] needed no matter the outcome of the [10:13] referendum vote with the additional [10:17] facility space being added with the [10:19] community's referendum support [10:22] attendance boundary changes will be [10:25] limited to elementary and middle schools [10:28] and impact act fewer families as [10:31] promised so just to be clear there are [10:34] no changes being made at the high school [10:38] level we understand that many community [10:42] members make lots of decisions based on [10:45] their households School assignments so [10:48] this process is not something that we [10:51] want to be doing often in fact it's been [10:54] more than 15 years since we've last done [10:58] changes on this scale we've come to a [11:02] point however where it's [11:06] needed this attendance boundary change [11:09] process kicked off this past fall and at [11:12] that time community members had an [11:15] opportunity to provide their thoughts on [11:17] the parameters the core team should be [11:20] using in creating the proposed scenarios [11:24] nearly 3,000 community members [11:27] participated these are now called our [11:30] community built parameters which will go [11:33] through [11:34] momentarily since like last September [11:37] the attendance boundary changes core [11:39] team has been utilizing the community [11:42] built parameters to develop proposed [11:46] scenarios in January four proposed [11:50] scenarios resulted from this work and [11:52] nearly [11:54] 3500 community members shared their [11:57] thoughts at that time on the the four [11:59] proposed scenarios that feedback helped [12:02] to lower the number of scenarios and [12:05] make adjustments to them and tonight [12:08] you'll have an opportunity to provide [12:10] feedback on these [12:12] updates these events in March will [12:15] likely wrap up districtwide feedback [12:18] opportunities so it's critically [12:20] important to us that we hear your voice [12:24] in April we'll once again review [12:27] Community feedback and consider [12:29] adjustments to the updated scenarios [12:32] final attendance boundaries will then be [12:35] announced in May the new attendance [12:39] boundaries however will not go into [12:42] effect until the fall of [12:46] 2026 the only exception to this timeline [12:49] is Crest View Elementary Crest viw [12:53] families will make their move in the [12:56] fall of [12:57] 2025 our building a better future plan [13:01] shared that an elementary school would [13:04] be repurposed to serve pre kindergarten [13:07] grades and to provide enrichment and [13:11] community-based programming needs after [13:14] much much research and consideration [13:18] pres View Elementary School was the [13:21] school chosen to do this so press views [13:25] kindergarten through grade five students [13:28] and their staff will be moving schools [13:31] at the start of the [13:33] 2025 26 school year which is next school [13:37] year now you've likely put these two [13:39] pieces together but the 2026 timeline [13:44] matches with the opening of The New [13:46] School in Northwest Maple Grove and at [13:50] this time I'm going to turn it over to [13:52] John Morad oio area schools a Executive [13:56] Director of Finance and operations to [13:59] walk us through the parameters and [14:01] updated [14:07] scenarios thank you [14:12] Kelly okay these are the community built [14:14] parameters the core team worked with to [14:16] create the proposed [14:18] scenarios starting with centering our [14:20] core values of honor and integrity [14:23] belonging inclusion and Excellence [14:26] transparency and intrinsic value ensure [14:29] scenarios can function in our system [14:32] including but not limited to [14:34] Transportation building utilization and [14:37] capacity enrollment both current and [14:39] future teaching and learning program [14:42] offerings and financial costs ensure [14:45] scenarios have longevity in our system [14:48] follow the teacher student class targets [14:50] established by the school board consider [14:53] the number of students impacted for each [14:55] scenario and consider the student [14:58] demographics of each [15:01] scenario consider connecting more [15:03] schools from level to level keep [15:06] neighborhoods intact as much as possible [15:08] minimize non-contiguous non- adjoining [15:11] areas maintain the 8/10 of a mile [15:14] Elementry and on M secondary [15:16] transportation service areas or walk [15:19] zones maintain safety standards in [15:21] regards to bus routing trying to avoid [15:24] major highways [15:26] Etc avoid lengthy travel times on [15:29] buses comply with state laws Schoolboard [15:32] policy and negotiated [15:34] agreements as you can see this is a [15:36] pretty good list of parameters as we [15:38] review the updated scenarios you may [15:40] notice that some of these parameters are [15:42] adhered to more than others from [15:43] Scenario to scenario the coure team did [15:46] their best to utilize all the parameters [15:48] as much as possible again with utilizing [15:50] the size schools and current placement [15:52] of school buildings that we have today [15:55] and are soon [15:56] expecting in just a few minutes as we'll [15:59] be going through the updated scenarios [16:01] as Kelly mentioned you if you have the [16:04] opportunity to provide feedback and ask [16:06] questions in the small group portion of [16:07] tonight's event please make sure to note [16:10] your comments and questions and we'll [16:11] get to those [16:12] soon this is an overview of the updated [16:15] scenarios being shared tonight January [16:18] scenarios number one and two are moved [16:20] forward with some adjustments made to [16:23] each scenario between 2,000 and 2600 [16:26] elementary and middle school students [16:28] are proposed osed to move which is [16:30] approximately 9 to 12% of the district's [16:33] total [16:34] enrollment bullet points three and four [16:36] mention specific groups of students that [16:38] would be impacted as noted in the [16:40] community built parameters this was [16:41] looked at for all the scenarios and this [16:43] is just a snapshot of that the racial [16:46] demographics of the schools wouldn't [16:47] change by more than 5% in the majority [16:49] of cases and the poverty demographics [16:52] also would not change by more than 5% in [16:54] the majority of [16:56] cases okay let's get down to the good [16:58] stuff [16:59] um scenario number 1A this is the [17:02] updated scenario been renamed this is [17:04] not exactly the same as the Jan January [17:06] scenario one a few tweaks have been made [17:10] before we go through those again I'm [17:11] going to orient you to the map here so [17:13] the colors represent the attendance [17:15] boundaries for the middle schools orange [17:17] being oio middle red for Maple Grove [17:20] middle green for North View middle and [17:22] blue for Brooklyn Middle within each [17:24] color group you will see the proposed [17:26] attendance boundaries for the elementary [17:28] schools feed that particular Middle [17:30] School you'll also see an elementary [17:33] school Edinbrook Elementary with a [17:35] purple hashtag coloring one of the goals [17:38] of the parameters is to reduce the [17:39] number of elementary schools that split [17:41] students to different middle [17:43] schools for reference today we have [17:46] seven Elementary locations that split to [17:48] multiple middle schools in scenario 1 a [17:50] we have [17:52] one approximately 2600 student [17:55] elementary and middle school students [17:56] would be impacted in this scenario this [17:59] is about 400 fewer than the January [18:01] proposal some of the strengths of this [18:03] scenario are its building use efficiency [18:06] elimination of non- adjoining [18:07] geographical areas and an improved [18:09] feeder like structure as students would [18:12] move with classmates from elementary to [18:14] middle school this scenario would last [18:17] for the foreseeable [18:19] future in the elementary school [18:21] neighborhoods would maintain mostly um [18:23] intact as more natural barriers major [18:25] roadways Parks creeks and lakes are [18:27] utilized as the boundaries [18:29] in all but one school building be Oak [18:32] View would be within its own attendance [18:34] boundary um which means the students [18:36] closest to each school be able to attend [18:37] and potentially walk there an oak View's [18:40] um boundary actually still allows for [18:42] students who live directly across the [18:44] street would be part of a walk Zone to [18:45] that school at the middle school the [18:47] non- adjoining Geographic areas that are [18:49] currently exist at North View Middle [18:52] School would be eliminated and again all [18:54] but one school building being Brookland [18:55] middle would be within its own [18:56] attendance boundary it's again right [18:59] across the street from where its [19:00] attendance foundary begins this means [19:02] students closest to each school would be [19:04] able to attend and potentially walk [19:07] there moving to scenario number 2A again [19:10] this is not exactly the same as scenario [19:12] 2 from [19:13] January approximately 2,000 elementary [19:16] and middle school students would be [19:18] impacted in this scenario which is about [19:20] 100 fewer than the January proposal some [19:23] of the strengths of the scenario are its [19:25] low number of changes functionality in [19:27] the system including efficiencies with [19:29] building use and transportation services [19:32] elimination of non adjoining Geographic [19:35] areas and an improved feather-like [19:37] structure as students move with [19:39] classmates between elementary and middle [19:41] the scenario would last for the [19:43] foreseeable [19:44] future elementary schools neighborhoods [19:47] would maintain mostly in be mostly [19:49] intact as more natural barriers again [19:50] are followed all but one School Oak viw [19:53] would be within their attendance [19:54] boundary again students closest to each [19:56] school would be able to attend and [19:57] potentially walk there middle schools [20:00] the non- adjoining Geographic areas [20:02] currently in North View would be [20:03] eliminated and again um all but one [20:06] building being Brooklyn Middle would be [20:07] within its own intendance boundary but [20:09] again right across the street in this [20:11] scenario you'll notice Edenbrook is [20:13] again the only school that splits to two [20:15] middle schools and the boundary is a [20:17] little bit different than it was in [20:18] scenario 1 a versus 2A but it's still [20:20] splitting to just two schools [20:29] now that you've seen updated scenarios a [20:31] common question is going to be how does [20:32] this specifically affect you to help [20:34] ensure and help you with that we want to [20:37] please have you check the boundaries [20:38] website for interactive maps for each of [20:41] the proposed scenarios in which you can [20:43] type your address in and find out the [20:45] specific impacts the website is [20:47] district279.org [20:49] boundaries Chromebooks are available [20:51] tonight if you'd like to take a look [20:53] while you're here um we're going to look [20:56] at a few FAQ questions and go through [20:58] some of the common ones uh more [21:00] questions can of course be asked within [21:01] your small groups and are also available [21:04] online one of the most common questions [21:06] is if I want to go to a different School [21:08] than my boundary school can I the answer [21:11] is yes and no um so in short here's the [21:16] best way I'm going to explain all of [21:17] this if in the past you have taken [21:20] action to select your school to select a [21:23] school for your child that is different [21:25] than the one you are assigned to you [21:27] have the right to choose to stay at that [21:29] school um applications do not need to be [21:32] refilled up for that so that would apply [21:34] to current in District transfer students [21:36] and current open enrolled students have [21:39] the right to stay at the location they [21:41] at as shared in January students [21:44] attending their home school will be [21:45] required to attend the school that [21:47] they're assigned to through the change [21:49] process one adjustment that has been [21:51] made to this however is that the 2026 [21:56] 2027 fifth grade and e grade classes can [22:00] choose to remain at their current school [22:02] if they would [22:04] like we received a lot of feedback about [22:07] this through the first process we [22:09] listened we heard you we wanted to [22:12] change that option so if you would move [22:14] for one year for the last year of middle [22:16] school or the last year of high school [22:18] you will have the opportunity to remain [22:20] at your current [22:22] school this whole harmless option for [22:25] Fifth and eighth graders is new and it's [22:27] purely being offered because it was was [22:28] a consistent request to the feedback [22:30] that was received in January and [22:32] February more information will be coming [22:34] out on how to make this [22:36] selection the currently restricted IND [22:38] District transfer and open enrolled [22:40] schools will remain in place until a [22:42] review has been completed which will [22:43] happen no later than January 15th of [22:46] 2027 which will be in time for any new [22:49] IND District transfer requests for the [22:51] 2728 school year Fernbrook is a great [22:54] example of this the building has been [22:55] tight for quite some time and we need to [22:57] see how new changes are supported um [22:59] with the boundary adjustments for that [23:01] first year busting information that [23:03] usually goes along with these changes [23:05] will be shared in its normal timeline in [23:07] the regular back to school season so for [23:10] the fall of 26 implementation expect to [23:12] see a communication regarding [23:14] transportation in August of [23:16] 2026 a lot more answers to frequently [23:19] asked questions have been added to the [23:20] boundary website feel free to check them [23:22] out at again district279.org [23:25] boundaries at this time I'm going to [23:27] turn it back to assistance [23:28] superintendent parpart to talk about the [23:30] transition and feedback [23:39] opportunities first our district greatly [23:41] appreciates your flexibility with these [23:44] changes please know that our entire oio [23:47] area schools team is here for you to [23:51] help make this transition go as smoothly [23:53] as possible all our schools as always [23:57] will be very welcoming mean to students [23:59] and their families as this change is [24:02] made make sure to reach out and connect [24:05] if your school is reassigned also if you [24:08] have any questions please don't hesitate [24:11] to reach out to our hotlines at better [24:14] future at [24:16] district279.org or by calling [24:20] 763 [24:22] 391 [24:24] 8990 at any time it is now time for the [24:28] feedback portion of the night likely [24:31] what you've all been patiently waiting [24:33] for as I've shared Community voice is [24:36] very important to us and there are two [24:39] ways that you can choose to provide [24:41] feedback this evening option one is to [24:44] go to your assigned small group your [24:47] name tag color matches the small group [24:50] that you're assigned to and in a minute [24:53] the facilitator of each small group will [24:56] hold up the color for their group so you [24:58] can easily find where you need to go if [25:01] you haven't been assigned a group please [25:04] report to the check-in table at the [25:07] entrance and we'll get you all set up [25:09] the second way you can provide feedback [25:11] is to utilize the QR code on the screen [25:15] and fill out the Google form via the [25:18] website link all of your feedback [25:21] whether that's via the small group or [25:24] through the feedback form will be [25:26] reviewed by the core team team in the [25:29] coming weeks again this month will [25:32] likely wrap up districtwide feedback [25:35] opportunities final attendance [25:37] boundaries are expected to be approved [25:41] in [25:43] May before we close out the presentation [25:46] portion of this evening I want to [25:49] introduce School Board member director [25:52] director Erica [25:54] Foster and I want to thank you for being [25:57] here with us tonight Erica and once [26:00] again a reminder to all of you that [26:02] there are multiple ways for you to stay [26:05] informed refer to [26:08] district279.org [26:10] boundaries for the latest information [26:13] parents and caregivers you can stay [26:16] tuned to regular updates via email and [26:19] text and all of our community members [26:22] can also connect with these hotlines [26:25] better future at two at District 27 [26:28] 99.org or by calling [26:31] 763 391 [26:35] 899 thank you again so much for joining [26:39] us tonight and taking time out of your [26:41] busy schedules we really appreciate all [26:44] of your help with making these needed [26:46] changes to be the best that they can be [26:50] so thank you very much and at this time [26:52] could the the groups hold up their uh [26:55] facilitators hold up the colors and if [26:57] you want want to match your name