Iowa City school board approves new boundaries

IOWA CITY - The Iowa City school board on Tuesday approved a new set of boundaries for the district, after a months-long debate over how best to balance poverty levels between schools.

The boundaries, also called attendance zones, will take effect when Liberty High School opens in 2017. They determine where students go to junior high and high school based on where they live.

The set of boundaries approved by the board in a 6-1 vote would result in the most balanced poverty levels between the district's three regions - north, east and west - among the final options the board considered. Board members said balancing demographic measures between schools is important in improving student experience and academic achievement.

But the plan drew criticism from parents and community members who said it would present barriers to education for some low-income students by bussing them to farther-away schools in more wealthy neighborhoods, in order to achieve that balance. Board member Tuyet Baruah also criticized the plan and voted against it.

'The people you're impacting the most are the people who can handle it the least,” said Dan McMahon, a Coralville resident.

Students at Kirkwood Elementary School in Coralville - which has the third-highest concentration of poverty in the district - would be assigned to North Central Junior High School, rather than the nearby Northwest Junior High, under the plan.

About 73 percent of Kirkwood students qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school - a common measure of poverty - according to the district's most recent enrollment report.

The board's vote included a provision to allow Kirkwood families to choose to attend Northwest Junior High.