School Board Approves Minor Boundary Changes in Osseo School District

Upon the recommendation of staff, the District 279 School Board approved an administrative boundary adjustment at the Tuesday, Jan. 24, meeting.

During a presentation to the School Board, Assistant Superintendent Kim Riesgraf outlined the following reasons for the administrative boundary adjustments:

• To reduce overcrowding at Palmer Lake Elementary school by moving two census areas to either Crest View Elementary or Garden City Elementary. Open enrollment at Palmer Lake Elementary is currently closed and will remain closed into the fall.

• To reassign one small census area from to to provide better elementary to junior high alignment.

Riesgraf cited Osseo School District Policy 725, which allows the district to make administrative boundary adjustments for situations where “overcrowding exists in a small number of buildings” as well as the “re-assignment of a small number of census areas."

Overall, three neighborhoods (census areas) in District 279 will be impacted—about 130 of the district’s 20,500 students. The changes will be effective July 1, 2012.

In Maple Grove, census area 421 for junior high will be reassigned to Maple Grove Junior High.

“It was the only census area that was assigned to Osseo Junior, so by reassigning this census area to Maple Grove Junior High—it provides better alignment between elementary and junior high for students transitioning from Rush Creek,” Riesgraf said.

According to a memo by Riesgraf, which was provided to the School Board, a "high percentage of families in this census area choose every year to open enroll to Maple Grove Junior High, so the actual number of students attending the officially assigned school (Osseo Junior High) is small."

Eighth- and ninth-graders currently in census area 421 can choose to stay at Osseo Junior High until senior high and receive district transportation.

In Brooklyn Park, Palmer Lake Elementary students in census area 90 will move to Crestview Elementary and students in census area 85 will move to Garden City Elementary. Current Palmer Lake Elementary fifth- and sixth-graders can decide to stay at Palmer Lake until junior high and receive district transportation.

Planning for the boundary adjustment

To notify families in the affected areas, Assistant Superintendent Keith Jacobus shared several transition plans with the School Board during the presentation. Families were sent a letter about the boundary change as well as a school choice letter for eighth- and ninth-graders impacted at Osseo Junior High and fifth- and sixth-graders impacted at Palmer Lake Elementary. Palmer Lake also had information sessions.

Crest View and Garden City will have spring activities and fall open houses.

Editor's note: What do you think of the administrative boundary adjustments? Share your opinion in comments.