Overcrowding OptionsPresented to Mills CAC

March 5, 2009

Goals set at CAC Meeting Feb. 5. Find ways to relieve overcrowding with

the least disruption to current students and their families.

Present multiple plans for the CAC to use to gather input from the parent population.

Collect data from AISD on student population.

Members should reflect the areas that might be impacted by new attendance boundaries. 

Current Students 2008-2009

Total: 1059Transfers (# from AISD): 73 (# from front office): 59Pre-K students: 56PPCD/EC: 18

Mills Student Population gained:84 students this year (over last year). 78 students the year prior.

Mills Student Population starts the year at:

1087

28 students more than current population. 246 MORE than Functional Capacity.

MINIMUM 3-4 additional classrooms needed. (currently at 58)

Will there be more students than projected? This doesn’t account for growth in transfers,

private school children who may enroll.

Several classes over state-mandated capacity.

Teacher in the Hall.

Lunch runs from 10:30 – 1:24.

Library – no time to catalog books, students visit every other week.

Now have 3 art, 3 PE, 3 music teachers with no dedicated space for 3 of them.

Special Areas – three-way split for some classes.

TAKS testing in the AV closet.

What is already “in the works” to relieve overcrowding:

Convert PE Portable to 2 classrooms

Add one additional Portable – the last one we have room for.(Beth Wilson says in order for Mills to have an additional portable, another school will have to lose one. Their priority now is Clayton and giving Kiker more portables.)

Move 25 Pre-K students who are zoned to Kiker and Clayton to Kiker Elementary.

FunctionalCapacity

Current2008-2009

Projected 2009-2010

Mills 841 1059 1087

Clayton 880 996 1080

Kiker 814 717 729

Patton 836 726 723

Oak Hill 814 950 1056

Associate Superintendent Ariel Cloud said, if enrollment at Clayton exceeded their projections for 2009-2010 (even after removing an entire grade level from the school next year.)

“If it…were not enough relief, we would be in an emergency situation, what has been termed a “doomsday situation,” and the District would have to look at schools where there is additional space. This would be necessary, however, because we could not allow children in an unsafe environment caused by overcrowding.”

What if we don’t get a second portable? What if Kiker doesn’t take the Pre-K

Class that is zoned for their area? What if enrollment continues to rise,

beyond the District projections? What if transfers exceed current

numbers? Future Growth: additional developments

to be added to Circle C North and the Waters’ property.

Convert the library to classrooms. (Directly from Beth Wilson.)

Bus kids to another school. What Clayton is facing now.

We will lose a say in how our school is relieved from overcrowding.

Mills needs both immediate and long-term relief.

The subcommittee is using the goals set by the CAC: the least disruption to current students.

Move all Pre-K classes from Mills as soon as fall 2009.

PROS Doesn't disrupt current students. Maintains consistent curriculum for Pre-K. Free up 3 classrooms to relieve current

overcrowding issues. Save money ($25K) to convert PE

portable. Retain EC for daycare options for staff. Fewer parents asking for a transfer to

stay at Mills.

Early Childhood

Clayton Kiker Mills Oak Hill

Pre-K

Patton Mills Oak Hill

28 of them are zoned to Mills attendance area.

20 are zoned to Clayton 5 are zoned to Kiker 2 are zoned to Langford 1 are zoned to Sunset Valley

A Pre-K center could relieve overcrowding at Oak Hill, Mills, Clayton and other local elementaries, by providing customized, innovative educational solution to young children living in our area who qualify for the program.

Could be housed at Patton Elementary, since they are in need of additional numbers.

Lucy Read Pre K Center http://www.austinschools.org/campus/read/

Lucy Read campus was converted to a Pre-Kindergarten Demonstration School for children living in 4 North Austin elementaries in 2006.

Those schools are far above maximum student capacity, and the new Pre-K campus at Lucy Read will alleviate the need for the District to build a new North Austin elementary campus, at an estimated cost of $15 million.

• Reduce the number of transfers coming into Mills.

Phased-in Boundary Solution for existing students zoned to Mills Elementary.

In order to be effective, Mills would need to reduce overall population by 175-200 students, or 29-30 per year over 6 years.

Fewer students would not reduce the population significantly enough. Growth is still expected with new developments already approved.

PROS

Would shift population from Kindergarten up to a new school.

Would gradually phase out teachers/staff. Would have the least emotional

disruption to current students. Would lessen fight over boundaries,

reasoned arguments could be had versus emotional ones.

School would not be divided – parent vs. parent.

CONS

AISD has NEVER done this. No model exists for it locally.

According to Beth Wilson, AISD likes to make a “clean cut.”

Transportation, sibling issues become a problem in District’s eyes.

If there’s no immediate relief and we remain critically overcrowded, AISD may not allow it.

We believe all three of these options are viable to pursue during the coming year.

That being said…All these present hard choices for our community, because they will change the make-up of our school.

The subcommittee supports a multi-pronged solution, because we feel it would have the best chance of surviving.

AISD is ready to make a “clean cut” at Mills. Is Mills ready for this option?

Vote to prioritize these options.

Include Assoc. Super. Ariel Cloud in our discussions, in order to lay foundation for these plans.

Establish timeline to present to parents.