School Boundaries Set

Community members in the Waukee school district have come together to make their voices heard regarding a boundary decision that would be in effect starting as soon as next year. Together, parents and students raised an astounding 900 signatures on a petition to overturn the school board’s decision on the boundary plan. 

The school board’s proposed decision would send students from certain elementary schools to the same middle school only to split them again at 10th grade. This option, titled “1A,” saw backlash from many members of the community who thought that it would be unnecessarily harmful to friendships created by the students in their middle school years. This plan also meant that some 9th-grade students at Prarieview would have to be bussed to other schools to participate in sports because of regulations on how many 9th-grade teams each Iowa school district can have. The affected students would come from Eason, Maple Grove, Shuler, and Waukee Elementary to attend Waukee Middle School and Prarieview together before being split into Waukee and Northwest high schools in the 10th grade. This decision was not the recommendation of superintendent Dr. Brad Buck or the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Committee (SSAC). Proponents of decision 1A believe that it is necessary to accommodate the growth of the Waukee School District and that the students affected will not experience harm in friendships because of it. 

The accompanying boundary option, titled “2B,” would keep every Waukee and Northwest student within the schools on their respective “side” of the district. This plan would make it so that each side of the district had two 6-8 schools and one 9th-grade building each. The two 9th-grade buildings would then funnel into either Waukee or Northwest High School which would keep all middle school students with the same classmates through high school. Survey data from the district showed that 2B was the preferred plan of the community members and was also the choice of Dr. Buck and the SSAC. 

Gabe Carter, a member of the SSAC and Student Body President at Waukee High School, gave his opinion on the board’s decision “I’m not sure why they chose to go against what the majority wanted, “ Carter said. ” I think that 2B is the obvious choice.” Many community members agreed with Carter. In fact, so many community members disagreed with the board’s decision that they came together and organized a petition to overturn it. According to Iowa law, students and parents in a school district can force a school board meeting on any decision as long as they have a minimum of 500 signatures on a petition. The community raised almost double the necessary amount, which shows just how important the decision was to them. 

Currently, the board’s decision has been overturned to 2B. But, that does not mean there won’t be another petition proposed in the future regarding this topic.