The Warren County R-III School Board last Thursday approved boundaries for its three elementary schools for the 2012-2013 school year.
The boundaries were needed and related to the restructuring process that was finalized earlier this year since Daniel Boone, Rebecca Boone and Warrior Ridge elementary schools will all become kindergarten through fifth-grade schools. The restructuring was necessitated by low test scores in the elementary schools.
Currently, the three schools house two grade levels.
The boundaries for the three schools are as follows:
• The majority of the students living west of Highway 47 and south of Interstate 70 will be attending Warrior Ridge Elementary, along with a large portion of the unincorporated areas of the county east of Highway 47.
• Elementary students residing in the northwestern portion of the district will attend Daniel Boone, along with those who live in the immediate area of the school. The lone exception is students residing in Ashland Meadows subdivisions, who will attend Daniel Boone.
• Students living in the northeastern portion of the district will attend Rebecca Boone, including those living in Truesdale and a small population inside the Warrenton city limits.
The projected enrollment in Daniel Boone Elementary is 443 students. Enrollment is estimated to be 418 and 501 students in Rebecca Boone and Warrior Ridge, respectively.
Two priorities district officials asked the demographer to consider were allowing students that lived within one mile of an elementary school to attend there and keeping the free and reduced lunch population similar at each of the three schools.
The free and reduced lunch population at all three schools is projected to be: Daniel Boone, 62 percent; Warrior Ridge, 53 percent; and Rebecca Boone, 65 percent.
Currently, the free and reduced percentage for kindergarten through fifth grade is 60 percent.
The school board voted unanimously to approve the boundary lines. Three options were reviewed and considered by the board at last Thursday’s meeting.
The boundaries were drawn by Business Information Services. It had been working on the boundaries since January when the school board awarded the bid for demographer services.
Superintendent Dr. Tom Muzzey said he was pleased with the outcome.
“We wanted to maximize the students who lived within one mile of each school that lived within one mile of a school,” he said. “That way you have a sense of community. Students can walk to school, maybe ride their bikes. Research supports that and we found in our readings that kids have higher achievement, believe it or not, walking to school. We thought that was a good thing to look at.
“Overall, there was a lot of factors to consider, but I think we did a nice job.”
The boundaries have been posted on the district’s website (www.warrencor3.org). Visitors can enter their home address to determine which elementary school their children will be attending next year.
The district will be holding three informational meetings on the approved boundaries to allow parents to visit the elementary schools and visit with district personnel.
The first meeting will be held on Monday, April 30, at Daniel Boone Elementary. The other meetings will be Tuesday, May 1, at Warrior Ridge Elementary and Thursday, May 3, at Rebecca Boone Elementary. All three meetings will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.
“We want to hear their concerns and we will do our best to meet their needs,” Muzzey said.
District officials also noted that the elementary boundaries will eliminate the need for double bus routes, a cost savings for the district, and that the boundary lines were set by a property’s backyard.
“When you drive down the street, both houses on each side of the street should go to the same school,” Assistant Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith said.
The demographer also reported that the R-III district wouldn’t need a new facility or building for a minimum of five years and likely closer to 10 years, according to Muzzey.
