Iowa City school board to hold listening posts on boundaries

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Iowa City school board will hold two listening posts this week to gather input on new school boundaries that could better balance poverty levels in the district.

The board this spring has been working to develop new boundaries, or attendance zones, that would determine where students go to junior high and high school based on where they live. The boundaries would take effect with the opening of Liberty High School in 2017.

Board members have considered boundary options that prioritize geographic proximity and balancing socioeconomic status and other demographic measures between schools.

A majority of the board supports a set of boundaries that prioritizes demographic balance and is based on current elementary school boundaries, board president Chris Lynch said Friday.

'I think it finds the middle of all of our various objectives,' Lynch said.

Residents in the Kirkwood Elementary School neighborhood — which includes many immigrant and low-income families — last month expressed concern about that option because it would send Kirkwood students to North Central Junior High instead of Northwest Junior High, which is adjacent to Kirkwood.

The board last week discussed allowing Kirkwood families to attend Northwest if they wanted to, Lynch said. But he said the district would provide busing only for those students if they attended North Central.

Lynch said the plan could have benefits for Kirkwood students.

'I think it's a tremendous opportunity for our Kirkwood students to attend our smallest, newest junior high and our smallest, newest high school,' he said, referring to North Central Junior High and Liberty High School.

But board member Tuyet Baruah, who opposes the plan, said it could present transportation barriers for low-income students who wish to participate in extracurricular activities.

Baruah said she prefers an alternative set of boundaries that prioritizes geographic proximity and keeps poverty levels at each school below 50 percent.

A third set of possible boundaries takes into account geographic proximity and demographic balance but not current elementary school boundaries. But that option would result in too many students at Liberty High School, Lynch said.

Lynch said he expected the board to decide on a final set of boundaries at its May 12 meeting.

The listening posts are scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at South East Junior High and 7 p.m. Thursday at Northwest Junior High.

LISTENING POSTS

Two listening posts are planned this week to gather feedback on proposed school boundary changes in Iowa. They meetings are:

• 7 p.m. Monday at South East Junior High.

• 7 p.m. Thursday at Northwest Junior High