Bursting at the seams

COEUR d'ALENE — More than 60 people attended a community forum at Lake City High School Monday night regarding potential attendance zone changes in the Coeur d'Alene School District.

However, the conversation was less about which students would be moved to what school, and more about advocating for brick and mortar solutions to a growing population of children living in the district.

"There are too many children in the classrooms already," said Heather Smith, whose daughter goes to Skyway Elementary. "If you're going to make a change it needs to be more permanent."

"A portable, by nature, is supposed to be temporary," said Roberta Ewert, a fifth-grade teacher at Hayden Meadows Elementary, who added she teaches a class of 33 in a portable. "This portable I teach in at Hayden Meadows has been there as long as I've been there, about 24 years."

Options on rezoning the elementary and middle school attendance zones were prepared by an Attendance Zone Committee — formed by the district's board of trustees six months ago and tasked to analyze the challenges associated with managing growth, particularly in the northwest region. As many as 450 students could be affected next year depending on which options, if any, the board takes during its meeting next month.

The forum was intended, according to district officials, to give the board of trustees insight and information prior to making any decision. As such, members of the board did not address any comments, and the discussion was moderated by Superintendent Matt Handelman.

Atlas and Skyway elementary schools, both located in the northwest portion of the district, are the two schools experiencing the most growth. In an effort to relieve crowding at the two schools, the committee's preferred plan would be to send students in the West Landings area to Atlas, and bring students from other zones to either Borah or Winton elementary school.

Angie Phillips, a former member of the district's long range planning committee, echoed others during the forum about the need to get away from portable buildings.

"What we really need are more schools," she said. "Maybe we need overcrowded schools for a year or two to show the taxpayers that we are bursting at the seams. I implore you guys to look at this again."

Woodland Middle School is bearing the brunt of the growth in the district. To address that growth, both of the committee's options have the West Landings students moving to Woodland, while other areas of the district will relocate to either Canfield Middle School or Lakes Middle School.

Andy Goodsall, who has children in the district, spoke of the impacts rezoning could have on families and the identities of neighborhoods. He told the board that changes to zoning, which could require longer commute times, could mean students would lose out on after-school activities.

The final speaker of the night, Irene Charney, spoke about how concerning it was that so few people attended the forum. Charney, whose grandchildren are students in the district, highlighted the fact that more teachers and faculty members spoke out at the meeting than parents.

"I am a little disappointed in our community," Charney said. "Do they just not care? I don't envy you (the board). You are trying to do something and fix something, when apparently there's not a whole lot of people that care."

Maps highlighting the areas where the potential zone changes could occur have been uploaded to the district's website, www.cdaschools.org. If any decision is made by the board during the April meeting, Handelman said, district officials would immediately begin notifying affected families of the changes.