Columbia Public Schools set to hold another open house to unveil possible phases for attendance changes
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia Public Schools will hold its third of seven open house Wednesday at the Aslin Building from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to unveil possible phases for attendance changes.
In an open house held yesterday, CPS presented the five options of Phases 2 and 3 for the next part of its school boundary changes.
The meeting also allowed the public to provide feedback on the plans. Phase 1 of the plans were approved on April 17, which addressed the expansions at Russell Boulevard Elementary.
Phase 2 focuses on filling in the new addition at Battle Elementary School after adding a new wing, allowing room for more students. Phase 3 looks at filling in the new Southwest Elementary School.
An internal committee made up of administrators from buildings across the district reviewed multiple options before narrowing it down to the five that were presented at the open house. The committee will review the options based on public feedback.
“This is one of those things where we want to be as open and transparent as possible. This is a major thing when we are talking about moving from one school to another,” Columbia Public Schools Vice President John Lyman told ABC 17 News.
Jennifer Keely has three children who are current and former students of CPS. Four years ago, her two daughters were split up due to a boundary change that left one of her daughters at Rock Bridge High School and another at Hickman High School. Three of the five proposed changes in Phases 2 and 3 could have her son moving from Hickman to Battle High School.
Keely adds that some of her neighbors moved because of these boundary changes.
“If we get switched and my son has to switch schools mid-career, we’ll be moving, too," she said. "We’ll be leaving our home of 18 years, and it makes me crazy that it’s because of a policy change because they are so focused on these numbers, that won’t even be valid when the boundary change happens.”
The district is looking closely at neighborhoods that had to move last time, in an effort to not move them again.
