Batavia schools working on boundary plan

The Batavia school district expects to have a boundary plan for its elementary schools in place by January or February of next year.

While it doesn't necessarily mean that students will be moved next year, the district wants a boundary plan in place for the next three years, said Superintendent Jack Barshinger.

"We're not that far down the road that we know if it will be next year or several years out," he said.

The school board was originally scheduled to talk about that on Tuesday night, but it was postponed. Barshinger said the board has been trying to keep meetings shorter so took off that item and one other.

Grace McWayne and Louise White elementary schools have 10 and nine classes, respectively, that are over the district's recommended sizes. Hoover-Wood and H.C. Storm schools are both near capacity, while Alice Gustafson and J.B. Nelson schools are under capacity, Barshinger said.

Three classrooms will be added to Grace McWayne with the Early Childhood Center moving out before next school year, but two of those will be returned to exploratory classrooms, Barshinger said.

The district plans to hold public meetings before coming to a decision on the boundaries, Barshinger said.

At the board's November meeting, administrators plan to review their criteria for boundary changes with board members.

One of those is to have dedicated rooms for art and music teachers in each building, and another is to allow children within walking distance of each school to continue attending there.