Lewiston population changes result in revised boundaries for city’s elementary schools boundaries

Population shifts in Lewiston have led to a proposed revision of elementary school boundaries.

The Lewiston School District is seeking input from parents and the community about the proposed boundaries created by a workgroup. An open house centered on the changes was held Tuesday and another open house will be from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday at the DeAtley Career Technical Education Center, 3125 Cecil Andrus Way. The two events are the same, with maps or the proposed changes and the opportunity for questions.

Maps of the proposed boundaries can be found at lewistonschools.net/elementary-boundary-revision. The color-coded maps feature background colors and lined colors. The background color is the proposed boundaries and the colored lines show which elementary school the child will be coming from. There will be no changes to middle schools.

Director of Student Services Kim Eimers emphasized that these are proposed boundaries, which is why the Lewiston School District is seeking comment from the community.

“This is not a done deal,” Eimers said.

The Lewiston School Board will review the workgroup and community feedback Jan. 27, but the board won’t take action on the proposed boundary revisions until Feb. 10.

After the board has taken action, a placement letter will be sent to families that will include their new elementary school boundary and a timeline for families to return their school placement preference for the next year — students who are enrolled in the 2024-25 school year will have the option to stay at their current school. New students, including siblings of current students, will be placed in schools based on the revised boundaries.

Open enrollment, which allows students who live in one elementary school boundary to attend a school in another boundary, will remain the same. Families can fill out an open enrollment application or letter of intent. Open enrollment applications are asked to be submitted by Feb. 1 but can be submitted after and will be considered in the order in which they are received.

Eimers said no one can remember when the last elementary school boundary revision was completed. The population changes in Lewiston made it necessary to review elementary school boundaries to make sure there are balanced class sizes and equal access to school facilities.

“Unfortunately, change will always bring change,” Eimers said.

A workgroup was brought together in October to work on the proposed boundary revisions, said Eimers.The workgroup was made up of parents, teachers, students and community members, including some contractors and real estate agents. Eimers wanted to make sure the group had diverse backgrounds to consider all the factors for the boundary revisions. Some of those factors included socio-economic status, safety and transportation.

At the first meeting Eimers said people were placed into groups and told to come up with proposed boundary lines.

“All came up with almost identical revisions,” she said. “That was nice because we were starting from a common place.”

Some of the population shifts occurred in Normal Hill and the Lewiston Orchards. Normal Hill has fewer young families and new developments in the east Orchards have brought in families to those areas. Those on the workgroup who have a background as a real estate agent or contractor had information on the kind of developments in those areas. For example, Eimers said, a $500,000 home might not be a starter home for a young family.

The changes in where families are living means that some schools have grown their population, like Webster, which used to be a small school.

Eimers said the district values neighborhood schools and wanted to balance population without making families drive across town to get kids to school.

At the event Tuesday, Eimers said the general response has been positive and people want to know if they will be affected by the proposed changes.

“They’ve been understanding why we’re proposing the changes,” Eimers said.

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.