School board will take big-picture look at Iowa City schools

The Iowa City school board will be taking a big-picture look at the district's school buildings and enrollment at a June 27 meeting.

The board, meeting as its facilities committee, will discuss long-range facility planning. This could include a number of topics they've talked about this year, including the future of Hills Elementary School and the related idea of closing smaller buildings that cost a lot to operate and building larger schools. “Newer and fewer” was a popular phrase at a May meeting.

The vision for a third comprehensive high school, magnet schools and a proposed regional education center in Johnson County that would offer specialty or college-level courses also could be discussed, Assistant Superintendent Ann Feldmann said.

The meeting starts at 4 p.m. and will be in the second-floor conference room at the district's Central Administrative Office, 509 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City.

At its regular meeting at 6 p.m. June 28, the school board could vote on setting the boundaries for Borlaug Elementary School, which is scheduled to open a year from now.  The decision also will affect the boundaries of a few other schools.

Administrators are recommending the board adopt what is known as draft 4c. They say that option best balances the facilities planning objectives as well as fiscal/operational considerations, building utilization, promoting neighborhood schools and demographic balance.

They also say it generated the greatest level of community support, although they acknowledge not everyone is happy. That includes some people in the Pheasant Ridge neighborhood and from Hills and Weber elementary schools.

Borlaug Elementary is under construction near Camp Cardinal Boulevard and Kennedy Parkway in Coralville.