WAUKEE, Iowa — One of Iowa's fastest-growing school districts may be seeing changes coming in the next year to their "boundary map."
On Monday, Waukee superintendent Dr. Brad Buck presented the map to the school board as the district continues to address overcrowding issues. The revised boundary map comes two weeks after the initial proposal received concerns from the Waukee community.
Waukee schools say building capacity, transportation needs and classes sizes were among the factors considered when proposing this new map.
The district also mentioned the map will strike a balance between community concerns and the district's three main priorities:
- Creating a feeder school for the northeast area of Waukee where students from Schuler, Walnut Hills and the future Waterford Elementary schools currently attend.
- Balancing enrollment at all elementary schools.
- Maintaining similar class sizes at both of the district's high schools.
The maps have caught the attention of parents whose kids attend any of the district's schools, because these maps set up new boundaries on where kids would go to school in the foreseeable future, regardless of current enrollment.
In the northeast area of the map, the district proposed expanding the footprint of Shuler into the Walnut Hills area, and extending Walnut Hills into the Radiant Elementary area.
The district also introduced having all Waukee Elementary School students move on to Waukee High School, instead of some being able to attend Northwest High School.
To combat the rising enrollment at Sugar Creek Elementary, the proposed map also includes shifting area from who attends the school versus Maple Grove Elementary.
There are exceptions for secondary schools included in the district's plans as well. Among those include:
- On the map, there are "crisscross marks" near the Waukee Middle School area. Students currently in fifth, sixth and seventh grade living in this area would be allowed to continue on to Waukee North Middle School and then Trailridge School.
- Current sixth through eleventh graders living in the slash section may be granted an exception. These students would be allowed to continue at Trailridge or North Middle School, and Waukee Northwest High School.
The district says in their plan if a family receiving an exception moves within the Waukee Community School District, that family will have to follow the boundaries for their new home. Also, the district will not provide transportation for students utilizing any exception.
The Waukee Community School District will host a special board meeting to discuss and take action on the proposed map on Dec. 4.