walnut creek school district · the walnut creek school district is an elementary school district...
TRANSCRIPT
Walnut Creek School District
PROPOSED
BOUNDARY STUDY
REALIGNMENT OF ATTENDANCE AREAS
TOTAL SCHOOL SOLUTIONS
4751 MANGELS BOULEVARD
FAIRFIELD, CA 94534
(707) 422-6393
(707) 422-6494 (fax)
JANUARY 20, 2015
Walnut Creek School District
GOVERNING BOARD
Elizabeth Bettis, Board President
Katie Peña, Board Clerk
Sherri McGoff, Member
Aimee Moss, Member
Barbara S. Pennington, Member
ADMINISTRATION
Patty Wool, Ed.D., Superintendent
Kevin Collins, Ed.D., Chief Business Official
P a g e | 1
FOREWORD
After considerable study by the Governing Board, the District administration and the community
regarding future enrollments, attendance boundary issues and the decision to take back
possession of the Dorris-Eaton campus and open a K-8 open-enrollment school at that site in
2015-16, the District is now ready to consider the final two-step process:
1) Realign current attendance boundaries to meet desired enrollment goals at each of the
existing K-5 schools based on students’ place of residence.
2) Determine the educational programs to be offered at the new school and open student
registration on a District-wide open-enrollment basis as of February 18, 2015.
This report addresses the first step outlined above. As noted, the second step will require the
District to establish the initial grades to be housed, the educational programs to be offered and
the open-enrollment selection criteria to be followed.
Vern Weber
Total School Solutions
January 20, 2015
P a g e | 2
INTRODUCTION
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE WALNUT CREEK SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Walnut Creek School District is an elementary school district located in Walnut Creek in
Contra Costa County, one of nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Four school districts
serve the community – the Walnut Creek School District, the Acalanes Union High School
District, the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, and the San Ramon Valley Unified School
District.
In 2014-15, the District is serving a total of 3,613 elementary school (K-5) and middle school (6-
8) students. The District has five K-5 elementary schools and one 6-8 middle school. Most
students transition to the Acalanes Union High School District upon completion of the eighth
grade.
WALNUT CREEK CITY AND SCHOOL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES
The following map outlines the boundaries of the Walnut Creek School District (black line) and
the City of Walnut Creek (Zoning Map boundaries).
Within the Walnut Creek School District boundary are a number of unincorporated areas, shown
as outlined areas in subdued, non-colored tones. These unincorporated areas are principally
residential communities, mostly built out. The exceptions include three proposed developments
in the area west of I-680 and south of Hwy 24: Saranap Village (54.9 acres, 235 units),
Westborough (20.9 acres, 14 units) and the old Tice Valley site (81 units)..
The territory east of the Walnut Creek School District is in the Mt. Diablo Unified School
District and consists of a considerable amount of land within the City of Walnut Creek. This
territory begins east on Treat Blvd. starting at Candelero/Tampico and east on Ygnacio Valley
Road starting at Marchbanks.
A small part of the City of Walnut Creek to the northwest of the Walnut Creek School District is
in the Mt. Diablo School District and is bounded by N. Main Street and San Luis Road.
A small part of the City of Walnut Creek to the south of the Walnut Creek School District is in
the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and lies east of I-680 and Sugarloaf Open Space.
For reference, a map of the Walnut Creek School District, a map of the current attendance
boundaries of the five K-5 schools and a description of the transitional areas under consideration
to realign attendance boundaries, along with accompanying maps, are included.
P a g e | 5
DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFER AREAS
The descriptions of the areas under consideration to be transferred from a current attendance area
to a new attendance area are defined below. Only streets that currently have students residing on
them are included in the lists of streets, but the areas are inclusive of all streets contained within
the boundaries.
Transfer Area 1 –Indian Valley to Walnut Heights
Area bounded by Oak Road (west), Creek (east), Las Juntas (north) and Contra Costa Canal
(south). This area is currently in the Indian Valley attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(Treat Blvd Cedarbrook Court - 1 - - - 1
& S of Treat Elmwood Ct/Dr - 6 - - 2 8
to CC Canal) Haven Ln - 2 - - - 2
Jones Rd/Pl 23 2 1 1 3 30
Parnell Court - 1 - - 1 2
Ravenwood Drive - 3 - - - 3
Treat Blvd. 3 7 6 2 2 20
Subtotals 26 22 7 3 8 66
(Area N of Harvey Drive 2 8 - - - 10
Treat Blvd) Honey Trail - 2 - - - 2
Mayhew Way - 1 - - - 1
Briarwood Way - 1 - 1 - 2
Roble Road - 4 - 1 - 5
Santos Ln. 4 10 3 1 4 22
Sunne Ln. 5 9 - 1 4 19
Subtotals 11 35 3 4 8 61
Totals 37 57 10 7 16 127
Transfer Area 2 – Indian Valley to Buena Vista
Area bounded by Oak Road (west), Iron Horse (east), Contra Costa Canal (north) and Ygnacio
Valley Road (south). This area is currently in the Indian Valley attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(Area W of Joann Court - 1 - - - 1
Iron Horse & Kingston Pl./Way 3 1 - - 1 5
S of CC Oak Road 16 42 5 3 5 71
Canal) Walden Rd. 2 1 - - 1 4
Subtotals 21 45 5 3 7 81
P a g e | 6
Transfer Area 3 – Indian Valley to Walnut Heights
Area bounded by Iron Horse (west), Walnut Blvd. (east), Ygnacio Valley Road (north) and
Newell extension east to north end of Shell Ridge (south). This area is currently in the Indian
Valley attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(W of Walnut Ahwahnee Ct. - 3 - - - 3
& S of Bradley Ave. - 4 - - 3 7
Ygnacio) Brasero Ln. - 1 - 2 - 3
Edmund Court - 1 - - - 1
Greenway Dr. - 4 - 2 - 6
Gregg Way - 2 - - - 2
McGuire Drive - 1 - - - 1
Norlyn Drive - 5 - - 2 7
Sharene Lane 1 16 3 3 4 27
Sierra Dr./Ln 3 17 3 1 - 24
Sutters Mill Court - 1 - - 2 3
Ygnacio Valley Rd 7 - 1 1 1 10_
Totals 11 55 7 9 12 94
Transfer Area 4 – Indian Valley to Walnut Heights
This area is bounded by Main Street (west), Iron Horse (east), Civic Drive (north) and Newell
Avenue (south). This area is currently in the Indian Valley attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(E of Main & Carmel Ct/Dr - 13 - - 1 14
S of Civic) Lincoln Ave. 1 4 - 1 3 9
S of Civic) Mt. Pisgah Rd 1 8 4 - 2 15
Village Court - 2 - - - 2
Totals 2 27 4 1 6 40
Transfer Area 5 – Indian Valley to Buena Vista
This area is bounded by Main Street (west), Civic Drive (east and south) and Ygnacio Valley
Road (north). This area is currently in the Indian Valley attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(N. Civic) N. Civic Dr. 51 2 1 3 9 66
P a g e | 7
Transfer Area 6 – Buena Vista to Walnut Heights
This area is bounded by I-680 (west), Main Street (east), Ygnacio Valley Road (north) and Mt.
Diablo Blvd. (south). This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(N of Mt. Almond Ave. 7 - - 1 - 8
Diablo & Brooks Street - - - 1 - 1
W of Main) Cole Avenue 1 - - 2 - 3
Dora Avenue - - - - 2 2
Lacassie Ave./Ct. 4 1 3 - - 8
N. California Blvd 1 - 1 2 - 4
Oakland Blvd. 13 1 1 - 1 16
Sharp Avenue - - - - 1 1
Shuey Ave. 6 3 - 1 - 10
Trinity Ave. 18 - 1 5 - 24
Subtotals 50 5 6 12 4 77
Transfer Area 7 – Buena Vista to Parkmead
This area is bounded by I-680 (west and south), Main Street (east) and Mt. Diablo Blvd. (north).
This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(S of Mt. Alma Ave. 3 1 - - - 4
Diablo & Alpine Road 1 - - - - 1
W of Main) Botelho Drive 8 - - 1 - 9
Subtotals 12 1 - 1 - 14
Transfer Area 8 – Buena Vista to Parkmead
This area is bounded by the District boundary (west), I-680 (east), Acalanes Ridge Open Space
(north) and Hwy. 24 (south). This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(S of Acalanes Hillcroft Way 1 - - 2 - 3
Ridge Open Placer Ridge Rd. - - - 1 - 1
Space) Rebecca Court 1 - - - - 1
Regency Court - 2 - - - 2
Springbrook Road 11 - - - - 11
Subtotals 13 2 - 3 - 18
P a g e | 8
Transfer Area 9 –Buena Vista to Parkmead
This area is bounded by the District boundary (west), I-680 (east) and the southern region below
Springside Road and Overlook Drive. This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(S of OverlookCarmello Road 2 - - - - 2
& Springside) Cuesta Way - - - 1 - 1
Galen Drive - - - 1 - 1
Loma Vista 1 - - - - 1
Miramonte Road (1/2) 6 - - 1 - 7
Montecito Crescent 2 - - - 1 3
Oakvale Road 6 - - 1 - 7
Terrace Road/Way 8 1 - 1 1 11
Vista Hermosa 9 - - - - 9
Subtotals 34 1 - 5 2 42
Transfer Area 10 –Buena Vista to Parkmead
This area is bounded by the District boundary (west), I-680 (east), the northern region Acalanes
Ridge Open Space (north) and the area south, including Springside Road and Overlook Drive.
This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.
Streets BV IV M P WH Total
(S of Acalanes E. Park Court 2 - - - - 2
Ridge Open Hillside Ave./Ct. 6 - - - 1 7
Space) Hilltop Crescent 4 - - - 2 6
Jocelyn Pl. 2 - - - - 2
Midvale Court 1 - - - - 1
Miramonte Road (1/2) 6 - - 1 - 7
Overlook Drive 12 - - 2 1 15
Park Terrace 1 - - - - 1
Rosemont Court 1 - - - - 1
Springside Road 4 - - - - 4
Tiburon Court 1 2 - - - 3
Subtotals 40 2 - 3 4 49
P a g e | 12
BOUNDARY REALIGNMENT
Based on District records, the following enrollments impact the K-5 schools:
Category_________________ BV IV M P WH Total
Current Enrollment 546 489 414 508 425 2,382
Intradistrict Transfers In (62) (63) (61) (114) (165) (465)
Intradistrict Transfers Out 123 181 114 30 17 465
Students Living in Current 607 607 467 424 277 2,382
Boundary
The above data include all intradistrict transfers regardless of category. For a complete
disclosure, the breakdown of intradistrict transfers by category, and interdistrict transfers
attending the K-5 schools, are presented for information:
Category BV IV M P WH Total Inter
Open Enrollment or Redirect 58 54 47 56 151 366 14
PALS 50 50 10
Program Improvement 2 1 1 4 3
SDC 4 7 5 16 5
TK 9 7 13 29 2
Students Living in Current 62 63 61 114 165 465 34
The District has set a target enrollment based on students residing in the current boundaries as
follows:
Category_________________ BV IV M P WH Total
Students Living in Current 607 607 467 424 277 2,382
Boundary
Desired Enrollment Increase/ (77) (190) 2 113 152 0
(Decrease)
Revised Boundary Target 530 417 469 537 429 2,382
Enrollment
To achieve the above desired enrollment increases and decreases, a study of each K-5 school is
presented in the following sections, along with the areas to be considered for transfer. In
determining what areas to be transferred to realign attendance boundaries, it should be
understood that precise enrollments cannot be realized for a number of reasons: 1) population
mobility means that some current students will leave the District while new students will enter
the District, and those new students will not reside on the same streets or enter the same grades;
2) over time, students who remain in their residences will pass through the grades and new
students will enter school as kindergarteners, thereby impacting enrollment; 3) the District will
experience significant residential construction that will add new students to some attendance
areas; 4) there is a projected increase in kindergarten enrollment due to increased births; 5) if
“grandfathering” is allowed; i.e., allowing students to remain at a school outside of the realigned
attendance area, that would significantly impact the numbers of students being reassigned.
P a g e | 13
After establishing the revised boundary target enrollments, it is estimated that open-enrollment
registration to the new school, with a capacity for 400 K-8 students (230 K-5 and 170 6-8),
would have the following estimated impacts on the K-5 schools. While the actual number of
students from each attendance area will not be known until open-enrollment registration occurs,
the estimates are based on proximity to the Dorris-Eaton campus. Based on this assumption, it is
estimated that the greatest number of students would come from Parkmead, Buena Vista and
Murwood attendance areas.
Category_________________ BV IV M P WH Total
Revised Boundary Target 530 417 469 537 429 2,382
Enrollment
Estimated Transfers to the (59) (27) (56) (60) (28) (230)
New School
Estimated Final Enrollment 470 390 413 477 401 2,152
P a g e | 14
SUMMARY
If boundaries were realigned as presented in the sections for each K-5 school, the following
approximate impacts would be realized:
Transfer Buena Indian Walnut Net
Area Vista Valley Murwood Parkmead Heights Impact
1 - (57) - - 57 -
2 60 (45) - - (7) 8
3 - (55) - - 55 -
4 - (27) - - 27 -
5 15 (2) - - (9) 4
6 (50) - - - 50 -
7 (12) - - 13 - 1
8 (13) - - 15 - 2
9 (34) - - 37 - 3
10 (40) - - 46 - 6
Net Impact (74) (186) - 111 173 24
Desired Goal (77) (190) - 113 152 -
While the impacts are reasonably balanced, it is virtually impossible to perfectly balance
enrollments when making boundary adjustments for the reasons discussed above.
It is suggested that, whatever realignment decisions are made, time be granted to allow for
enrollments to stabilize. Also, the impact of the open-enrollment registration policy for the new
school at the Dorris-Eaton campus could differ from the assumptions made by the District. After
new boundary decisions are made, if enrollments differ significantly from the desired
enrollments after passage of a few years, the boundary realignment issue could be revisited.
P a g e | 15
BUENA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Buena Vista:
Current Enrollment 546
Intradistrict Transfers In (62)
Intradistrict Transfers Out 123_
Students Living In Current Boundary 607
The District has set a target enrollment based on students residing in the current boundary as
follows:
Students Living In Current Boundary 607
Desired Enrollment Decrease ( 77)_
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 530
After establishing the revised boundary target enrollment, it is estimated that open-enrollment
registration to the new school, with a capacity for 400 students, would have the following
estimated impact on Buena Vista enrollment:
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 530
Estimated Transfers to New School (60)_
Estimated Final Enrollment 470
To meet the above goal, one option to consider for adjusting Buena Vista enrollment to reduce it
by approximately 77 students consists of transferring K-5 students into Buena Vista from
Transfer Areas 2 and 5 and transferring K-5 students out of Buena Vista from Transfer Areas 6,
7, 8 and 9. It should be noted that Buena Vista students already residing in Transfer Areas 2 and
5 do not impact BV enrollment, but students attending IV, M, P and WC would be transferred. In
a similar manner, only Buena Vista students residing in Transfer Areas 6, 7, 8 and 9 would be
transferred out of BV.
The transfers identified above would have the following approximate impact, thereby essentially
achieving the desired goal of reducing Buena Vista enrollment by 77:
Increases in Enrollment
Transfer Area 2 60
Transfer Area 5 15
Total 75
Decreases in Enrollment
Transfer Area 6 (50)
Transfer Area 7 (12)
Transfer Area 8 (13)
Transfer Area 9 (74)
Total (149)
Net Impact (74)
P a g e | 16
INDIAN VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Indian Valley:
Current Enrollment 489
Intradistrict Transfers In (63)
Intradistrict Transfers Out 181
Students Living In Current Boundary 607
The District has set a target enrollment based on students residing in the current boundary as
follows:
Students Living In Current Boundary 607
Desired Enrollment Decrease (190)
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 417
After establishing the revised boundary target enrollment, it is estimated that open-enrollment
registration to the new school, with a capacity for 400 students, would have the following
estimated impact on Indian Valley enrollment:
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 417
Estimated Transfers to New School (27)
Estimated Final Enrollment 390
To meet the above goal, one option to consider for adjusting Indian Valley enrollment to reduce
it by approximately 190 students consists of transferring K-5 students out of Transfer Areas 1
through and 5. It should be noted that only Indian Valley students residing in Transfer Areas 1
through 5 would be transferred out of Indian Valley. If students in Transition Area 1 who attend
other schools were to be reassigned, enrollment imbalances would occur.
The transfers identified above would have the following approximate impact on Indian Valley.
The transfer of 186 students out of Indian Valley meets the desired reduction goal of 190
students.
Decreases in Enrollment
Transfer Area 1 (57)
Transfer Area 2 (45)
Transfer Area 3 (55)
Transfer Area 4 (27)
Transfer Area 5 ( 2)
Total (186)
P a g e | 18
MURWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Murwood:
Current Enrollment 414
Intradistrict Transfers In (61)
Intradistrict Transfers Out 114_
Students Living In Current Boundary 467
The District has set a target enrollment based on students residing in the current boundary as
follows:
Students Living In Current Boundary 467
Desired Enrollment Increase 2_
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 469
After establishing the revised boundary target enrollment, it is estimated that open-enrollment
registration to the new school, with a capacity for 400 students, would have the following
estimated impact on Murwood enrollment:
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 469
Estimated Transfers to New School (56)_
Estimated Final Enrollment 413
Because the estimated final enrollment of 413 closely matches the current enrollment of 414,
there is no need to transfer any students into or out of Murwood. However, if Murwood students
who reside in the transition areas under consideration for realignment were to be included, there
would be a small decrease in Murwood enrollment.
P a g e | 19
PARKMEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Parkmead:
Current Enrollment 508
Intradistrict Transfers In (114)
Intradistrict Transfers Out 30_
Students Living In Current Boundary 424
The District has set a target enrollment based on students residing in the current boundary as
follows:
Students Living In Current Boundary 424
Desired Enrollment Increase 113_
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 537
After establishing the revised boundary target enrollment, it is estimated that open-enrollment
registration to the new school, with a capacity for 400 K-8 students (230 K-5 and 170 6-8),
would have the following estimated impact on Parkmead enrollment:
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 537
Estimated Transfers to New School (60)_
Estimated Final Enrollment 477
To meet the above goal, one option to consider for transferring approximately 113 K-5 students
into Parkmead entail transferring students residing in Transfer Areas 7, 8 and 9. It should be
noted that Parkmead students already residing in Transfer Areas 7, 8 and 9 do not impact
Parkmead enrollment, but students attending BV, IV, M and WC would be transferred. These
transfers would have the following approximate impact on Parkmead. The transfer of 112
students into Parkmead meets the desired goal of increasing enrollment by 113 students.
Increases in Enrollment
Transfer Area 7 13
Transfer Area 8 15
Transfer Area 9 83
Total 112
P a g e | 20
WALNUT HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Walnut Heights:
Current Enrollment 425
Intradistrict Transfers In (165)
Intradistrict Transfers Out 17_
Students Living In Current Boundary 277
The District has set a target enrollment based on students residing in the current boundary as
follows:
Students Living In Current Boundary 277
Desired Enrollment Increase 152_
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 429
After establishing the revised boundary target enrollment, it is estimated that open-enrollment
registration to the new school, with a capacity for 400 students, would have the following
estimated impact on Walnut Heights enrollment:
Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 429
Estimated Transfers to New School (28)_
Estimated Final Enrollment 401
The transfer of students in Transfer Areas 2 and 5 to Buena Vista reduced Walnut Heights
enrollments by 7 and 9 students respectively. To meet the overall goal, one option to consider for
increasing Walnut Heights enrollment consists of transferring Indian Valley students from
Transfer Areas 1, 3, and 4 and transferring Buena Vista students from Transfer Area 6. This
would have the following approximate impact. The transfer of approximately173 students into
Walnut Heights exceeds the desired increase of 152 students, but makes a significant impact
toward achieving the desired goal.
Changes in Enrollment
Transfer Area 1 57
Transfer Area 2 (7)
Transfer Area 3 55
Transfer Area 4 27
Transfer Area 5 (9)
Transfer Area 6 50
Total 173
Area 1 57 Students
To: Walnut Heights
Area 2 60 Students
To: Buena Vista
Area 5 15 Students
To: Buena Vista
Area 3 55 Students
To: Walnut Heights
Area 4 27 Students
To: Walnut Heights
Buena Vista
Walnut Heights
Indian Valley
Indian Valley
Transfer Areas from
Total School Solutions
Murwood
Parkmead
Buena Vista
Walnut Heights
Area 10 40 Students
To: Parkmead
Area 9 34 Students
To: Parkmead
Area 8 15 Students
To: Parkmead
Area 650 Students
To: Walnut Heights
Area 7 13 Students
To: Parkmead
Buena Vista
Transfer Areas from
Total School Solutions
Buena Vista
Indian Valley
Parkmead
Walnut Heights
Murwood
Total School Solutions
Boundary Map Proposal
Buena Vista
Area 1040 Students
Buena Vista
Transfer Areas
OPTIONS
Transfer Area 10 Option:
Because students in Transfer Area are
much closer to Buena Vista than Parkmead,
this area could remain in the Buena Vista
zoned to Buena Vista.
If this area remains with Buena Vista,
Buena Vista will have approximately 40
more students than the “target”, while
Parkmead would have 40 students less
than the “target”.
Parkmead
Area 1 57 Students
Area 2 60 Students
Buena Vista
Walnut Heights
Indian Valley
Indian Valley
Transfer Areas
OPTIONS
Transfer Areas 1 and 2 Option:
Students in Area 1 have been moved to
Walnut Heights to achieve target enrollments.
Walnut Heights is as close as or closer than
Indian Valley to most addresses in the area.
However, this would leave an attendance
“island” which may not be desirable.
Area 1 could be zoned to Buena Vista. To
achieve balance, Students in Area 2 could then
be zoned to Walnut Heights.
Because current enrollment in these areas are
nearly equal, the change would not affect
overall school enrollment.