St. Charles School District 303 approves new enrollment zone boundaries

St. Charles School District 303 is one step closer to finalizing the enrollment zones for each grade level in the district, and is expected to vote on the last set of boundary lines tonight.

At their Feb. 12 meeting, board members voted to approve new enrollment zone boundaries for middle schools and high schools, and will hold a special meeting Feb. 13 to vote on elementary school zones.

Since last summer, the school board has been approving major changes to the structure of district elementary schools to address overcrowding. Lincoln Elementary will be repurposed to house staff and transition programming, Fox Ridge will reopen as an elementary school, early childhood care will be moved to the Haines Center, Richmond and Davis will have new grade level configurations, and the dual-language program will be transferred to Richmond.

Because of these changes, the board is also working to redraw the boundary lines of enrollment zones across all schools. At their Feb. 12 meeting, the board voted unanimously without discussion to approve middle school and high school enrollment zones.

The board was presented with several concepts for each level by demographer RSP & Associates and has been choosing between concepts in many recent meetings. The approved high school concept is the only concept considered that will not change the current boundaries.

Board members continued to discuss elementary zone changes, and were introduced to two new concepts to consider at their Feb. 12 meeting, bringing the total to five concepts to choose from.

Community members have voiced concerns and opinions on the proposed concepts during recent meetings, mainly at the elementary level.

Over a dozen resident spoke during the public comment section of the Feb. 12 meeting to ask the board to consider the option they support. Many of those who spoke were residents of the Timbers subdivision, advocating for their kids to stay in Wild Rose Elementary School.

After discussion, board members found consensus to move a concept forward for vote at the Feb. 13 meeting. The concept that will be voted on for elementary schools can be viewed here.

If the elementary school zones are approved at the Feb 13 meeting, the new enrollment zones for each grade level will go into effect in the 2024-25 school year.