Boundary Committee Mtg 3

BOUN DARY

Balancing priorities to create equitable, sustainable school communities

May 19, 2026

Meeting 3

PREVIOUSLYON OURBOUNDARY JOURNEY We reviewed past, present, and predicted future enrollment trends by school We reviewed scatterplots of student residence locations for each school to understand enrollment patterns and where students are coming from across the district We explored the concept of Tension Mapping and applied it to our data

MAKING SENSEOF BOUNDARIES 4 Types of (school) Boundaries

Physical

Rules & Requirements

Operational

Social & Emotional

GEOGRA PHIC

Attendance Zones Distance to Schools Natural Barriers (highways, rail roads, major throughfares) Transportation routes

Key Idea: What is physically possible?

GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES ARE PHYSICAL

CAPA CITY

Building Size Limits Class Size Targets Staffing Constraints Program Availability (e.g., special education, CTE)

Key Idea: What can we realistically hold?

CAPACITY BOUNDARIES ARE OPERATIONAL

POLI CY

Board Policies State/Federal Regulations Equity Requirements Feeder Patterns

Key Idea: What are we required to honor?

POLICY BOUNDARIES ARE RULES AND REQUIREMENTS

COMM UNITY

Neighborhood Identity Historical School Ties Perceptions of Quality Trust in the district

Key Idea: What do people feel belong together?

COMMUNITY BOUNDARIES ARE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL

ACTIVITY

Step 1:

20

Sort the provided scenario cards into one of the four boundary types.

Identify scenarios that may fit more than one boundary.

New housing developments are being built on the edge of the district.

Families strongly identify with this school’s history and traditions.

Which cards were the hardest to place--and why?

14

20

14

Keeping neighborhoods intact would lead to inequitable class sizes.

Step 2:

ACTIVITY

Identify 2-3 “conflicts”--pairs of cards that cannot be fully statisfied at the same time.

For example: 20

New housing developments are being built on the edge of the district.

14

Keeping neighborhoods intact would lead to inequitable class sizes.

Families strongly identify with this school’s history and traditions.

20

14

Card A: Keep neighborhoods intact Card B: School is at 110% capacity If we choose Card A, what are the implications?

If we choose Card B, what are the implications?

Name the conflict: Community vs. Capacity

ACTIVITY

Step 3: Now add a third card to the pairs.

For example: 20

New housing developments are being built on the edge of the district.

14

Keeping neighborhoods intact would lead to inequitable class sizes.

Families strongly identify with this school’s history and traditions.

20

14

Neighborhood Cohesion Overcrowed School Families will leave if boundaries change.

Now, what do you do?

ACTIVITY

Step 4: You must make a boundary decision. You cannot satisfy all three cards.

20

New housing developments are being built on the edge of the district.

Families strongly identify with this school’s history and traditions.

20

14

14

Keeping neighborhoods intact would lead to inequitable class sizes.

What do you choose, and why?

Now reflect and answer: One boundary we underestimated is...

One tension we must manage carefully is...

One decision principle we should use is...

DEBRIEF

What just happened?

Were you able to satisfy everything?

20

14 New housing developments are being built on the edge of the district.

Families strongly identify with this school’s history and traditions.

14

20

Keeping neighborhoods intact would lead to inequitable class sizes.

What made choices hard?

Easy?

How would you message the choices and decision making to the public?

ACTIVITY Control vs. Influence Using the cards you already sorted: Which of these are fully within our control and which are not?

Sort the cards into two columns--control and influence In sorting ask yourself the following: Could we change this tomorrow if we chose to?

Do we need permission, buy-in, or behavior change from others?

What happens if we ignore this--does it still impact us?

Control refers to factors the district can directly decide, change, or implement without needing external approval. These are internal levers--such as drawing attendance boundaries, assigning programs, setting school usage, or designing transportation routes--where decisions can be made and executed by the organization.

Influence refers to factors the district can shape or impact, but cannot directly determine. These depend on the actions, perceptions, or conditions of others--such as family school choice, community trust, housing patterns, or birth rates--where the district’s role is to guide, communicate, and respond rather than control outcomes.

Key Distinction Control is what we can decide and implement.

Influence is what we can affect but not guarantee.

Step 5:

ACTIVITY

Look at your groupings, what do we control vs. influence?

What do we do about it?

20

14 New housing developments are being built on the edge of the district.

Families strongly identify with this school’s history and traditions.

14

20

Keeping neighborhoods intact would lead to inequitable class sizes.

For example: Birth rates declining--Influence---adapt system Boundary lines--control--redesign Where are we trying to solve something we don’t actually control?

REFLECT Which boundary type showed up most in CONTROL? Which boundary type showed up most in INFLUENCE? Which cards caused disagreement?

the

most

Geography Capacity Community Policy

One of the biggest challenges in leadership is when we treat influence like control-or ignore influence because we can’t control it.

As we move forward we will need to answer: Where are we spending energy trying to control things we actually only influence?

Where do we have control but aren’t using it?

THE THEORY OF REVIEW BOUNDARY REDESIGN Bringing It All Together

Boundaries are shaped by: Geography--what is possible Capacity--what we can hold Policy--what we must honor Community--what people value Every decision involves: Tradeoffs Competing priorities Imperfect outcomes

Our role is to balance, not eliminate.

HOW BOUNDARY DECISIONS ARE MADE

REVIEW

Understand the system geography, enrollment, community Identify tensions competing priorities Apply constraints capacity, policy, transportation Make tradeoffs no perfect solution Evaluate using criteria

This is not a linear process. We revisit steps as we learn, more information becomes available, and community input is gathered.

WHYBOUNDARY DESIGN IS HARD There is no perfect map to the work We cannot maximize all priorities at once: Proximity to school Efficient use of buildings Stable school communities Equitable access to programs Every Decision Solves one problem Creates another Our goal is not perfection--it is balance.

REVIEW

WHAT DO WE MEAN

BY EQUITY? Equity in Boundary Design Equity does NOT mean: Everyone is treated the same Every school looks identical Every DOES mean: Access to high quality programs Avoiding concentrated disadvantage Reducing barriers for students and families Being mindful of who is most impacted Who benefits and who bears the burden of our decisions?

REVIEW

REVIEW

SYSTEM VS. INDIVIDUAL Systems Think in Patterns

Individuals Experience Decisions Personally

The system asks: Are schools balanced?

Are resources distributed fairly?

Are opportunities equitable across the district?

Is this sustainable over time?

Families ask: Why is my child being moved?

Why is our neighborhood split?

Why are we losing access to this school?

The system is about fairness at scale.

Individuals experience: Loss Disruption Indentity shifts Trust (or distrust) The individual is about lived experience.

We must be aware of, and address, this tension to successfully complete our work.

REVIEW

CONTROL VS. INFLUENCE Control is what we can decide: Boundaries Programs Transportation

Confusing the two creates frustration.

Influence is what we must adapt to: Choice Trust Demographics

NOT ALL CONSTRAINTS ARE EQUAL

REVIEW

Understanding Constraints

Some constraints are non-negotiable: Safety Legal requirements Building capacity limits Some constraints are flexible: Neighborhood preferences School identity and tradition Stability over time The work is deciding where must we hold firm and where can we adapt.

Not all boundary types carry the same weight, some boundaries limit us while others guide us.

WHERE CRITERIA FIT

REVIEW

Using Criteria to Guide Decisions Criteria are not just a checklist--they are a filter. They help us: Compare boundary scenarios Stay grounded in shared values Make decisions transparent Reduce bias and opinion-driven choices Without criteria, decisions feel personal. With criteria, decisions are anchored in priorities.

DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE Boundaries Are Long-Term Decisions Boundary changes should: Address current challenges Anticipate future enrollment Reduce the need for constant redrawing

If we only solve for today, we create new problems tomorrow.

REVIEW

THANK YOU.

Boundary Committee

Next meeting:

Exploring Equity and the Impact of our work

Strengths/Weakness of Current Boundaries

What do we need/want from our community? Designing input opportunities