Waukee school board reverses decision on middle school system, votes to keep students together
The Waukee school board voted Monday to reverse a decision on how students would move through middle grades after a major public outcry over its original plan.
In December, the board picked a "split" feeder plan, against the superintendent's recommendation, where some middle school students destined to be a Warrior and some destined to be a Wolf would go to the same junior high school but then go to different high schools.
More than 900 community members submitted a petition, with concerns about how the split plan would impact students' mental health and school experiences, to get the board to reconsider its choice. Petitioners and Superintendent Brad Buck preferred an "intact" option that would change the way grades are set up in buildings and keep students together throughout elementary, junior high and high school.
The board called a public hearing last week after receiving the petition. At the meeting Thursday, parent Shantell Jones said her son put it best: "If this was you, would you like to lose your best friends?"
More:Waukee parents petition school board to reverse decision on where students go to school
On Monday, the board voted to implement the intact option after weighing complex factors and the disruptions either plan could cause.
"Neither one is a silver bullet," said board member Michael Schrodt.
Survey data showed students and parents overwhelmingly supported the intact option that would keep all students together through high school by creating two schools for grades 6 through 8 that feed into one school for grade 9, which feeds into one of the high schools. There would be another set of schools set up to feed into the second high school.
The survey data showed staff with students in the district were divided and other staff supported the "split" plan two-to-one.
Originally, board members said the split plan would be more stable and less likely to cause whiplash with major changes again in the near future as the district grows and boundaries inevitably change again.
However, regardless of considerations like cost or longevity, Board President Wendy Marsh said Monday: "I can't personally vote for something that potentially harms children."
She said her original vote was under the premise that both options would have the same outcome for mental health and education. But now she said she sees student mental health as a big concern with the split plan.
Only board member Alex Smith voted no on Monday. He said he would have voted no regardless because it is not clear which option would be better for student mental health, pointing to changes like putting 8th graders in the same building as 6th graders.
Board members and Buck were quick to note that Monday's vote is not the end of the story, as major school boundary changes are coming over the next few years as new buildings start to open. Buck said school boundary changes will now be more dramatic as the district sets up the new buildings and determines who goes to which school.
"At the very end though, what struck me is the student experience," he said of his recommendation, even if the model would be less efficient.
He said he talked to students who felt a lot of uncertainty about being a freshman at a mixed-grade school and, with a 9th-grade only school, the adults can create a situation where that doesn't have to happen.
He said the split plan is not ideal and that the goal should be to hold off on one for as long as possible.
Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Waukee school board votes to reverse middle grade boundaries
