Hundreds Of BA Students Impacted By District Boundary Changes

Because of growth, Broken Arrow is changing the lines that determine where students go to schools.

Tuesday night, parents got a look at the new borders impacting about 1,000 kids, most of them living in the north and east sides of the Broken Arrow school district.

Parents at Tuesday night's meeting both supported the new plans and expressed unhappiness with the idea of starting their kids at a new school next year.

Next school year, 600 elementary students in Broken Arrow will be learning at a new school near Kenosha and the Creek Turnpike. Broken Arrow's 15th elementary school represents more growth, but also new boundary lines assigning homes and neighborhoods to the schools.

Tuesday night, parents got to see new maps proposing lines for elementary and middle schoolers. Leaders said months of data gathering and input went into the maps by a committee of parents and school officials.

But, not all parents who attended the forum are happy with the thought of their child going to a different school next year.

"I agree that it's growing, but why disrupt my kids and kick them out for kids that's moving in for the first time," asked parent Janet Fields.

Fields fears her children will be in different schools next year.

"My frustration is my kids are going to be disrupted and I don't want them to be," she said.

Other parents, like Jamie Holmes, understand the need to make the moves because of crowded classrooms.

"Change is hard, and ultimately it’s for the best, and you just have to figure out a way to deal with it," said Holmes.

Planning officials said they moved around 6,000 students last time the lines moved - this time they're trying to minimize the impact with only 1,000 students being affected.

"As long as we continue to grow there is no final line, and that's probably the message, you know, as we are a growing district your boundaries may change as we fill new schools," said Michelle Bergwall with Broken Arrow Public Schools.

The boundary lines are not official yet, but the board could decide on them in the next two months.

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