KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.
Angeline Washington Elementary School is the newest addition to the Park Hill School District. Before it's set to open in 2025, the district is drawing new boundary lines that impact where elementary, middle and high school students may go next year.
Park Hill parents reached out to KSHB 41 News reporter Isabella Ledonne sharing their concerns with how the district is deciding who goes where. Mindi Shupe explained if the new boundary map is approved, her sixth-grade student will be going to school at the opposite end of town with none of the neighbors.
"When the final thing came out, we were just flabbergasted that it was this island in this scoop," Shupe said. "They took our little section of our neighborhood and just scooped us 20 minutes away from all of our support."
Her middle schooler Tylie is now stressing about what will happen next year.
"My whole friend group is going to split up into three different schools," Tylie Shupe said. "I would have to wake up like way earlier, I would have to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready."
Nearly 1,600 students could be impacted by the new boundary lines by moving into a different school next year. Park Hill's chief communication officer explained the district has received nearly 6,000 pieces of feedback. Those comments are then sent to a community advisory board, made up of parents, community members, and staff who applied for the position. The advisory board ultimately made the proposed boundary lines which were submitted to the school board in November.
"We've been through over 20 iterations of maps and scenarios for our community," Kelly Wachel said. "We've also been through several rounds of feedback for our community."
The boundaries are based on a balance of enrollment, neighborhoods, socioeconomic status, and moving the least amount of students. Numbers show the newest school, Angeline Washington, will have the fewest amount of students on free/reduced lunch and the least amount of non-white students.
Wachel explained community feedback wasn't in favor of a past proposal that had a more balanced socio-economic ratio because it created pockets of school district boundaries within existing communities.
"We looked at neighborhood considerations [and proximity to schools] as a really high priority for the community," Wachel said. "When you have neighborhoods that are close to schools, it's desirable for those neighborhoods to attend the schools that are in their neighborhood."
But Shupe is confused about why her neighborhood is being split up.
"The advisory board is looking at the numbers and they're not looking at us as humans," Shupe said.
Wachel explained any redistricting process is hard on communities, which is why the plan could still change before the board meeting on December 12.
"We're still looking at feedback in the process before the board ultimately approves a final recommendation in December," Wachel said.
With just three weeks until the next board meeting, the Shupe family plans to keep speaking out.
"No matter what the turnout is, we know we at least tried and we fought for it," Tylie Shupe said.
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