Mailers to Give Parents News on Boundaries

In an effort to address community concerns over the redrawing of Huntington Beach City School District boundaries, which could uproot nearly 700 students, Supt. Duane Dishno has started a newsletter with weekly updates.

The district filled all its available classrooms last fall by implementing the governor’s class-size reduction plan in first grades, which gives districts $650 for each student who is in a class of 20 students or less. The school board then decided to reduce class sizes in the second and third grades by reopening the closed Peterson/Clapp school by September and changing attendance boundaries.

That has become an emotional issue, because 600 to 700 students will move to different schools and away from their friends, Dishno said.

The newsletter details Peterson/Clapp renovation progress and the Boundary Realignment Committee’s discussions at its twice-monthly meetings. The first issue of Community News was mailed at the end of January, and parents can expect a new issue every week, Dishno said.

The realignment committee, which consists of parents from the district’s eight elementary schools, is expected to present a boundary plan to trustees as early as March, Dishno said.

Before that report, the committee will hold a Feb. 19 public hearing on its final boundary recommendations.