photo by: RSP

A presentation slide shows some particulars of concept two, one of two proposals discussed by the Boundary Advisory Committee at its meeting March 8, 2023.

The committee working to redraw boundaries in the Lawrence school district related to the potential closures of Broken Arrow and Pinckney elementaries has begun conversations about where potential boundary lines might lie, and a consultant will soon prepare a revised plan based on committee input.

During a Boundary Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday evening, consultants working with the district went over possible boundary changes. District spokesperson Julie Boyle said the committee ultimately voiced a preference for one of the two options that the consultant, RSP & Associates, presented, but also asked for a revised concept that combines elements of both.

Both concepts laid out projected class sizes; race and ethnicity breakdowns; and the distribution of students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals across all the district’s eleven remaining elementary schools should both schools close.

The first proposal divided Broken Arrow students among Prairie Park, Schwegler and Sunflower, and Pinckney students among Deerfield and Hillcrest. The second proposal divided Broken Arrow students among Cordley, Langston Hughes, Prairie Park, Schwegler and Sunflower, and Pinckney students among Deerfield, Hillcrest and Woodlawn. The first proposal would affect 666 students and the second would affect 443 students.

Boyle said the committee expressed a preference for the second proposal, with several committee members voting with a show of hands that they favored that proposal and no committee members voting for the first proposal. However, Boyle said the committee provided further feedback on sticky notes about each of the concepts. She said the responses indicated that committee members wanted to see a revised concept that fell somewhere between the two proposals. She said that RSP would bring a revised proposal to the committee’s next meeting on March 22.

photo by: RSP

A presentation slide shows some particulars of concept one, one of two proposals discussed by the Boundary Advisory Committee at its meeting March 8, 2023.

photo by: RSP

A presentation slide shows some particulars of concept two, one of two proposals discussed by the Boundary Advisory Committee at its meeting March 8, 2023.

RSP outlined the following main takeaways from the second concept:

• Cordley expands south of 23rd Street to K-10 utilizing western boundaries of Naismith Trail and Louisiana Street (currently part of the Broken Arrow attendance area)

• Deerfield expands east along Sixth Street to the Kansas River (currently part of the Pinckney attendance area)

• Hillcrest expands north to Sixth Street and east to Massachusetts Street (currently part of the Pinckney and Cordley attendance areas)

• Langston Hughes expands southwest utilizing several county roads: North 1200 Road, East 1000 Road, North 950 Road and East 550 Road (currently part of the Broken Arrow attendance area)

• Prairie Park expands west to Iowa Street along Kansas Highway 10 (currently part of the Broken Arrow attendance area)

• Schwegler expands southeast along 25th Street to Louisiana Street and south to K-10 (currently part of the Broken Arrow attendance area)

• Sunflower expands southwest utilizing North 1200 Road, East 1000 Road, North 950 Road and East 550 Road (currently part of the Broken Arrow attendance area)

• Sunset Hill expands north to Trail Road (currently part of the Deerfield attendance area)

On Thursday, RSP posted a summary of the comments the committee members provided about the two proposals. Below is a sampling of some of the 40 comments provided for both concepts (some of which the Journal-World edited for clarity), and the full listing of comments is available in the committee’s meeting materials on the school district’s website, usd497.org.

Comments on concept one:

• More students impacted in concept one

• Cordley capacity percentage is high (94.4% capacity next school year)

• Could Sunset Hill and Langston Hughes take on more students?

• Like that (students with lower socioeconomic status) goes up at Deerfield; can we get the low socioeconomic status at Quail Run to increase?

•Sunflower to Schwegler movement may have lots of walkers crossing two major roads, 23rd Street and Iowa Street.

Comments on concept two:

• Sunflower is too close to capacity (94.6% next school year)

• Quail Run is unaffected by concept two; can we take pressure off Sunflower and move some kids to Quail Run?

• I only support (expanding boundaries) to Woodlawn if busing works

• Can we combine Sunset Hill and Quail Run in a different way to even out (students with lower socioeconomic status)?

• Concern about kids getting to Schwegler across 23rd Street and Iowa Street. Can we have crossing guards?

photo by: RSP

Comments collected from the Boundary Advisory Committee about concept one at its meeting March 8, 2023, are compiled in this presentation slide.

photo by: RSP

Comments collected from the Boundary Advisory Committee about concept two at its meeting March 8, 2023, are compiled in this presentation slide.

The committee’s final meeting before its recommendation is presented to the board will be at 5:30 p.m. on March 22 at the district’s Facilities & Operations Campus, 711 E. 23rd St., Building A. The recommendation will be presented to the Lawrence school board on March 27.