With the new Meadow Ridge School opening in Okotoks in September 2019, the Foothills School Division (FSD) has hit the drawing board to determine new school boundaries in and outside the town.
Current school boundaries will be undergoing a change for the 2019-2020 school year, which means students may have to switch schools or arrange for alternate transportation, depending on their current location and potential newly designated school.
The FSD began planning at the beginning of 2018 to assure that the school boundaries were coordinated with the addition of the new Meadow Ridge School, while also balancing the needs of families and planning around school capacity levels.
The following months entailed meeting with parents to communicate expectations and gather feedback for the Board of Trustees.
In November 2018, the Boundary Planning Committee took the feedback into consideration and presented the Board several different boundary configuration options.
In the regular Board Meeting on December 12, the FSD selected their option of choice, after balancing the needs of families and students and reflecting on the feedback they've received so far.
They're still encouraging the public to voice their opinion towards their final proposed option or "principled option", to assure families in the community are satisfied with the final decision.
Meanwhile, other deliberations are in progress such as the decision to limit the new Meadow Ridge school to accepting K-8 students in September 2018, to prevent potential disruptions to current students heading into the ninth grade.
To voice your feedback on both topics, follow this link.
The FSD plans to have the final boundaries in place, by March 2019.
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