Frequently Asked Questions:
Why is the Puyallup School District considering school boundary changes? The district passed a Capital Construction Bond Program during the November 3, 2015 general election with a 69% approval rate from voters. The Bond Program includes three major elementary school replacement projects (Firgrove, Northwood, and Sunrise), two major elementary school expansion and remodel projects (Hunt and Pope), and one new elementary construction project in the southwest region of the district. These projects will increase the student capacity of the existing buildings and will create new capacity with the new elementary, requiring a revised attendance area.
Will boundary changes only impact elementary schools? No. The school board has commissioned the Boundary Review Committee (BRC) to evaluate each attendance area at the elementary, junior high, and high school level. The last formal boundary review of school attendance areas in the district occurred over 10 years ago. The demographics of our community have changed. District programs have also changed throughout this period, driving the need to evaluate the boundaries for each of our schools.
Where can I view my school's proposed boundary changes? Click here to see the 2019-20 Boundary Maps page.
When would boundary changes be implemented? Changes would go into effect starting in the 2019-20 school year.
Will the public have a chance to review proposed changes prior to consideration for adoption by the school board? Yes. The district will present any proposed changes to school attendance areas for public review and comment prior to consideration for approval by the school board. Public outreach efforts have been scheduled for spring 2018. More information about these public outreach efforts can be found on this site.
What criteria will the BRC use in its consideration of future boundary changes? The BRC commissioning documents includes the following scope: The BRC committee will seek to provide equity throughout the district in regard to socioeconomic status and ethnicity, balance enrollment, maximize access to educational programs, and support an efficient transportation plan that includes non-vehicular safe routes to schools. The committee will also incorporate the process outlined in Board Policy 3130 – District Attendance Areas.
Has the Boundary Review Committee considered the planned changes to Highly Capable Programs such as QUEST and PAGE?
Yes. The Board of Directors approved a plan to expand the QUEST and PAGE programs at the March 19, 2018 school board meeting. The Highly Capable Program Growth Plan has been incorporated into the work of the Boundary Review Committee. For information on the planned expansion of the district’s Highly Capable programs, please visit the district’s Highly Capable Programs website.
Will sixth-grade students remain at Edgemont JH after the new Northwood Elementary opens in the 2019-20 school year? Sixth-grade students will remain at Edgemont Junior High after the new Northwood opens. Edgemont Junior High currently serves approximately 500 students in sixth to ninth grade. However, its core facilities (i.e. lunchroom, gymnasium, etc.) were designed and constructed to accommodate up to 800 students, which is the district-wide standard used at other junior high sites such as Aylen, Kalles, and Glacier View. To make full use of the building’s capacity, sixth-grade students will continue to attend EJH.
A future classroom wing is envisioned at Edgemont to increase the overall capacity from 550 to 800 students. Portable classrooms may be needed at Edgemont in the interim and as residential construction continues in the North Hill region.
Continued growth in Edgewood requires that sixth-grade students remain at EJH. While the new Northwood Elementary is projected to open with some available capacity in the 2019-20 school year as a kindergarten through fifth grade school, it is projected that Northwood will be fully occupied by the 2021-22 school year.
Will portable classrooms be needed once the new elementary bond projects are completed? The 2015 bond program was designed to reduce, but not eliminate, the need for portable classrooms at the elementary level. The bond projects will expand permanent building capacity at five elementary schools (Hunt, Northwood, Firgrove, Sunrise, and Pope) and includes the construction of a new southwest elementary recently named Dessie Evans Elementary. These projects will increase the number of instructional spaces inside the permanent building and reduce the need for classrooms in portables at the elementary level. Over the past year, six portable classrooms were removed from Shaw Road Elementary before the school’s 12 classroom addition opened for the 2017-18 school year.
Puyallup School District has grown by approximately 420 students per year over the past five years. The best conditioned portables will be maintained where needed to support the recent growth and projected enrollment increases and support district initiatives such as kindergarten - third grade class size reduction targets. Existing portables at elementary schools may also be relocated to the junior high or high school level to serve projected enrollment increases at the secondary level.
How are impacts from new housing construction included in the work of the Boundary Review Committee? Puyallup School District staff works with local municipal and county jurisdictions to track residential new construction throughout the district. The type of residential construction and the number of units included in a project help district staff estimate the projected number of students. Projected students from these developments are incorporated to the numbers used by the Boundary Review Committee.
To view a map of the residential new construction in the Puyallup School District, visit the Residential Development web map and zoom in to your area of interest. Left click on a development to learn more about the project.