Tonight was the first night of open house on the proposed middle school boundary changes, this one being held at Bell Mountain Middle School.

There are four proposals being promoted, and the school district allowed parents to come in and look at them, and talk to district staff. Superintendent Linda Callway was there making herself available to any parent with questions. Also there taking questions was Assistant Superintendent Gil Compton.

I met with Compton and asked him the rationale for the four different proposals. That is, I wanted to know the thinking that went into figuring how they drew the proposed boundary lines for each of the four proposals.

Click the link below to see all four proposals (it will open up a separate browser window)...

http://www.menifeeusd.org/fil_files/362.pdf

Basically, proposals #9 and #11 are drawn on existing elementary school lines. This seemed to be popular proposals only because it allows kids to attend the same middle school as their friends. However, they each create an imbalance in student populations at the middle schools.

Proposals #4 and #5 utilize a different philosophy, by drawing the boundaries on physical lines, namely Newport Road and the I-215, but includes the Menifee Hills community and the community behind Stater Bros into Menifee Valley Middle School. The difference being that #4 extends only to Ridgemoor Rd, while #5 goes a little further north than that.

Overall, proposal #4 creates the most equitable balance between all three middle schools.

There will be another open house tomorrow, at Menifee Valley Middle School, beginning at 5:30pm, and running until 7:00pm. Parents are encouraged to attend and speak with district staff.

School board trustees will discuss the proposals again at the next public meeting October 14.

Labels: Menifee-Union-School-District