Some elementary students in the Union district will switch schools next year.
The Union Board of Education approved a plan to ease overcrowding at Boevers, Roy Clark, Rosa Parks and Darnaby elementary schools, mainly by taking advantage of newly finished space at Ellen Ochoa Elementary.
"Enrollment numbers fluctuate, but when we last checked, we have about 271 kids moving to Ochoa Elementary and about 45 kids moving from Darnaby to Jarman Elementary," said Associate Superintendent Charlie Bushyhead.
Plans for Ellen Ochoa Elementary called for it to one day accomodate 1,000 students. According to the State Department of Education, its 2018 enrollment was 546.
The changes affect several apartment and duplex communities.
Switching from Boevers to Ellen Ochoa:
- Sawmill Apartments, 12903 E 35th Place
- Cimarron Apartments, 13201 E 31st Street
- Briarglen Plaza Duplexes, 130th E Place south of 31st E Avenue and E 31st Court east of 129th E Avenue
Switching from Roy Clark to Ellen Ochoa:
- Beaumont Cove Apartments, 3147 S 108th E Ave.
- Boca Vista Apartments, 10851 E 33rd St.
- Village Duplexes, E 33rd Street west of Garnett Road
Switching from Rosa Parks to Ellen Ochoa:
- Creekside Apartments, 3901 S Garnett Road
- Park Terrace Addition, north of 41st Street between Creekside Apartments and Park Plaza East
Switching from Darnaby to Jarman:
- Creekwood Apartments, 8418 S 77th E Ave.
The communities now at Boevers will be slightly farther from their new school than their current one.
"But one of the things that will benefit these groups is we will provide bus service to them to Ochoa, which has been something that has been requested in the past because all three of those neighborhoods enter and exit off a major street," Bushyhead said.
Bushyhead said new residential developments are coming within district boundaries, but this plan should keep kids from changing schools more than once.
"We know that there will be changes even in upcoming years. And so, we tried just to address those overcrowded schools," Bushyhead said.
