Iowa City schools considers five-step plan for redistricting

The Iowa City school board may be on its way to having a five-step plan for changing school boundaries.

The plan, which was recommended Tuesday night by district administrators, led by Superintendent Lane Plugge, calls for some immediate decisions while holding off on others

It culminates with the opening of a third comprehensive high school at an undetermined date.

The district has been engaged in the redistricting process much of the school year. The five-step plan appears to spread out boundary decisions rather than voting on one comprehensive plan.

The steps leading up to the opening of a new high school would shift more students to City High, which is under capacity. West High, meanwhile, has been overcrowded.

The first step, to be undertaken this spring, includes several boundary changes, such as assigning some neighborhoods in Lincoln and Hills elementary schools to City High.

The second step, to be considered over the next two years, includes more boundary decisions. But the board removed mention of possibly moving parts of what is now Roosevelt Elementary to City High, a move opposed by many in the Roosevelt area.

The second step also calls on the school board explore how it can help schools with significant numbers of low-income students.

After meeting for more than three and a half hours, the board held off on in-depth discussion of the final three steps, which focus on a new high school. They'll take that up at their next meeting.

“I would like to study the triggers more,” board member Sarah Swisher said. “They're not critical to the redistricting.”

Step three, as it stands now, says that once three-year projections estimate that high school enrollment will surpass 3,750 students, planning will start for a new school. Plugge said that's about the most students West and City could handle.

High school enrollment currently is about 3,140. Projections put that number at 3,704 in the fall of 2014.  It would take about three years to design and build a new school.

The fourth step calls for beginning construction, and step five includes new high school boundaries and opening the school.