WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Redistricting concerns took center stage at Monday night's West Seneca School Board meeting as Superintendent Dr. Lisa Krueger presented her recommendations to address a population imbalance between the district's east and west sides.
The controversial issue has been debated for months, with school leadership working to balance enrollment between West Seneca East and West schools. In June, parents expressed their concerns at a school board meeting, asking for clarity and transparency before the redistricting. The recommended plans include redistricting elementary schools and repositioning middle school configurations, but the proposals are not sitting well with students and parents.
WATCH: West Seneca School Board announces redistricting options to address enrollment imbalance
After months of deliberation, Krueger outlined four redistricting options and evaluated their viability as solutions for the district.
"We really look at this as an opportunity to have a long-range facilities plan that will not only respond to the concerns that we have around enrollment and capacity, but will also serve us long-term and well into the future," Krueger said.
The four redistricting options
Option 1: Elementary redistricting — This plan would shift students from Clinton Elementary to Northwood and move Allendale Elementary students to Winchester-Potters.
"This does solve our redistricting issues. It would alleviate the pressure at Clinton and also at Allendale. It alleviates and is a viable solution for elementary-based redistricting, but it does not solve the issue that we have at West Middle School," Krueger said.
Option 2: Elementary and middle school changes — This option includes the same elementary changes as option one, but also modifies the East and West boundary at the middle school level.
"We are not recommending this plan. This is not my recommendation. We've heard the feedback from stakeholders this spring. They clearly expressed a desire to maintain the current east and west boundaries, and I believe that there are other viable options," Krueger said.
Option 3: Fifth-grade relocation — This plan would pull fifth grade out of Northwood and Clinton and send those students to East Middle School.
"This would solve the issue at Clinton. If we pull 5th grade out of Clinton, Clinton decreases in capacity. They can enjoy much more reasonable class sizes. However, this solution also would pull 5th grade out of Northwood. That is not what we need. Northwood is already underutilized," Krueger said.
Option 4: Grade-level school model — The final option would create pre-K to second-grade schools on the west side at Winchester-Potters and Allendale Elementary.
"It does allow us to maintain the current east and west boundaries. It is a viable solution for addressing our elementary capacity concerns. There's some great opportunity here for us to really have specialized schools," Krueger said.
Parent concerns about student cohorts
Jeremy Weingarden, a West Seneca parent who attended the meeting, said the presentation provided much-needed clarity for families.
"The number one goal is what we've been asking for is to not have our children be ripped away from their cohort, the other kids that they've gone to school with for many, many years," Weingarden said.
He expressed hope that the district will continue moving forward with transparency regarding the redistricting topic.
Next steps in the process
The public comment period is now open through October 31. Once the board reviews public feedback, it will vote on the redistricting plan on November 18.
Watch the full school board meeting here. The explanation for all four options begins at 1:23:45. The public comment period will be updated on the district's website.
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