Attendance Area Task Force

The families of each student will be asked if they want to attend Pioneer Ridge or Chaska Middle School West. Requests will be honored with transportation provided for all three years of middle school.

Current middle school students who now attend Pioneer Ridge Middle School will continue at Pioneer Ridge. Parents can request an internal transfer to other buildings if desired. Transportation will continue to be provided to Pioneer Ridge and will be added for Chaska Middle School West.

These students will be assigned to Clover Ridge per new elementary boundary beginning 22-23 school year and therefore Chaska Middle School West as the middle school boundary beginning 23-24 school year. Families can make internal transfer requests to other buildings per district policy. Sibling preference is a consideration for approving requests. Transportation to Pioneer Ridge Middle School will be available only for the 22-23, 23-24, and 24-25 school years.  Transportation to Chaska Middle School West will be provided because the current East Union boundary is now Clover Ridge Elementary which feeds to Chaska Middle School West.

Students will be assumed to stay in the elementary building they are currently attending. 5th grade students who have internally transferred will be assigned to middle school based on their home address and transportation would be provided. Families can make internal transfer requests to other buildings per district policy. Transportation is not provided for students who internal transfer to schools other than their assigned boundary school.

The closing of East Union was identified as a cost saving measure by district administration and approved by the Board in the 20-21 school year to be implemented in the 22-23 school year due to the higher cost of operating a smaller school as well as the significant and immediate deferred maintenance requirements.

To create additional capacity at Victoria Elementary for anticipated growth, the preschool program currently offered at Victoria will move to Bluff Creek Elementary starting in the 22-23 school year. Students currently in the Victoria Elementary program that will be kindergarten ready in 23-24 will be given priority enrollment to stay at Victoria for preschool programming for 22-23 school year only. Preschool programming will not be offered at Victoria beginning in the 23-24 school year. Students currently enrolled that will not be kindergarten ready in 23-24 will be able to enroll in preschool programming at Bluff Creek Elementary or the Family Learning Center for the 22-23 school year.

In addition to expanding preschool options at Bluff Creek Elementary School starting in the 22-23 school year, as well as options at the Family Learning Center, administration is committed to exploring alternate options to offer programming in the Victoria area starting in the 23-24 school year.

The AIM Program will be moved to Chanhassen Elementary beginning in the 22-23 school year to best provide for the increased space needs that are required for this expanding program and to connect it with the Discover program and staff already located at Chanhassen Elementary.  In addition, ECCS is committed to working with program staff and district architects to review and update space to meet the needs of the students.

ECCS has established targeted class sizes across all elementary schools. Actual class sizes are based on a combination of building space as well as budgeted staffing levels. With the current attendance area recommendation, there is space available for the 22-23 school year at all elementary buildings to maintain the class size targets that the school board has established. As enrollment continues to grow and any additional space elementary level continues to be used, class sizes may increase until more elementary space can be added.

The charge of the Attendance Area Task force was to accommodate the closing of East Union Elementary and create new attendance areas that would be sustainable for the next 3 - 5 years. We know ECCS continues to experience significant home construction which will likely increase enrollment and create a need for additional building space and attendance area changes in the future. As the district continues to grow, district administration will continue to review building enrollment every year and will consider implications for open enrollment and internal transfers. Open enrollment and internal transfer may be restricted by administration as determined necessary based on capacity of a building.

• Make attendance a priority
• Consider the needs of the overall school district versus a particular school(s) or neighborhood(s).
• Willing to listen to the ideas of others and work to reach consensus
• Come prepared (read minutes, etc. prior to meeting)
• Participate in discussions
• Adhere to norms
• Share information with stakeholders as agreed upon

• Provide sustainable attendance areas for the next three to five years unless there is significant change in enrollment versus current projections.
• Consider future growth to include: enrollment projections from demographers, city plans/plots, birth rates, etc.
• Ensure East Union students are moved as neighborhood groups so students are not isolated.
• Maintain grade configuration K-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
• Move as few students as possible.
• Have students attend school as close as possible to their home.
• Maintain concept of “feeder schools” between elementary and middle schools and that each middle school serve students that attend both high schools.
• Strive to minimize division of communities in attendance areas.
• Consider proximity, neighborhoods, bus ride times, and traffic patterns for best efficiency in transportation. 
• Boundary changes should maintain similar demographic makeup at schools at the elementary and secondary levels.
• Seek community input prior to making a final recommendation to the school board.
• Adhere to State and Federal laws and guidelines.

Anyone interested in serving on the Attendance Area Task Force (AATF) needs to complete an online application by Friday, September 24 at 4:30 p.m.