Battle Ground Public Schools

At the request of the Battle Ground Public Schools Board of Directors and superintendent, a committee of 30 parents, staff and community members met over six weeks in the fall of 2018 to examine data and develop options to address overcrowding and continued growth in district schools.

The Overcrowding Committee presented its report, including several options for addressing overcrowding, to the Board of Directors at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 5:

Overcrowding Committee Report, Nov. 5, 2018 (PDF)

The Board thanked the committee for its concern for students, the sacrifices that individuals made to meet over several weeks, and the work that the group put into developing options.

Next steps:

• The Board of Directors will hold a work session on Nov. 19 to review the options and discuss considerations.
• Public forum(s) will be held to gather input.
• The Board will make a decision by January on how to address overcrowding in district schools.

The Issue

The district’s four southern schools—Glenwood Heights, Laurin, and Pleasant Valley Primary and Middle—are feeling the effects of significant growth. As of October 1, Glenwood (built for 484 students) had 810 students, while Laurin (built for 600) had 690 students. The Pleasant Valley campus (built for 993 students) had 1,090 students. An enrollment forecast conducted for the district by an economic development company projects Glenwood could increase by 380 to 445 students over the next 10 years, and Laurin by 380 to 440 students. The forecast projects that Pleasant Valley Primary could increase by 135 to 245 students and Pleasant Valley Middle by 80 to 170 students.

Committee Formation

Thirty people were chosen to serve on the committee. Members included 4 representatives from district office, 6 building principals, 6 staff members, 11 parents and 2 community members (one member had to resign). Staff members, parents and community members were selected from a pool of more than 50 applicants. Names were chosen by lottery. The process was supervised by School Board Members Tina Lambert (District 5) and Mavis Nickels (District 4) and witnessed by Superintendent Mark Ross. Names were placed into a container and drawn randomly.

The district hired Frances Portillo of Portillo Consulting International, to organize the process and facilitate meetings. Ms. Portillo is a facilitator, trainer and educational consultant who has worked with many districts throughout the Northwest and worldwide. Ms. Portillo helped assure an unbiased process where all committee members were encouraged to participate and share ideas.

Guiding Principles

During the first and second meetings, the committee developed a set of guiding principles. The purpose of these guiding principles was to be clear on the values and ethics that guided the committee through the process.  The committee made sure that the options were true to the guiding principles that the committee had declared important.

• Student needs are the first priority. This includes student safety.
• Current learning spaces should be maximized.
• It is important to consider that all decisions made will impact the quality of student education for years to come.
• Equity (equal learning opportunities for all students) is important.
• Participation of all committee members and consideration of all perspectives is critical to effective problem solving.
• Recommendations will be supported by data and consider what is best for the district as a whole.
• Creativity and thinking out of the box is valued.

Central Question

Given that school-building resources will not be changing anytime soon, what can we do to best serve our students in the schools that we currently have available?

Goal

To come up with three to five recommendations for use of our schools to best serve our students.

The Central Question and Goal were articulated and posted at all meetings to keep focus on  the task at hand.  A copy of the Central Question and Goals was also included in committee members’ binders for reference when needed.  The articulation and posting of the Central Question and Goal served as a reminder of what members were tasked to do and helped the committee to stay focused and consistent.

Data

The committee reviewed district data, including

• Battle Ground Enrollment Forecast Analysis, E.D. Hovee & Company, February 2018
• Enrollment and classroom use, October 2018
• Overcrowding Thoughtexchange Summary Report, September 2018

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Final Thoughts

During the process of developing options, the committee identified concerns that were not applicable to the committee’s task of addressing overcrowding using current facilities:

1. Members of the committee overwhelmingly support running a bond. They felt that all the proposed options were temporary given potential growth in the district according to the Hovee Report on enrollment growth.
2. The committee suggests running smaller bonds targeting specific projects (e.g., building a new K-8 campus on property the district owns in the southeast). Timing and scope of the bond needs to be carefully considered. The committee recognizes that there is a significant population in the district that is averse to increased taxes, or that may not benefit from school improvements. Building relationships throughout the entire district will be necessary to pass a bond.
3. Strong advocacy at the legislative level to eliminate the supermajority requirement for bond passage could be advantageous for the district. Advocacy at the local level to increase impact fees may increase funds to help mitigate overcrowding.
4. Security and safety for children in our schools should be a primary concern. Newer buildings have security features available that are not possible to implement in the older schools.
5. Relocation of Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) campuses would free up space for conventional schools.
6. Ensuring that parents are aware of all alternative learning opportunities in the district, including River Online, may provide added relief to overcrowding while maintaining student funding within the district. Developing additional learning opportunities such as expanding the CASEE center or creating a magnet school (such as an Arts Academy or STEM school) should also be considered.
7. As research in the field of K-12 education continues, the committee encourages district leaders and the board to stay informed of and implement best practices as they develop. The current model of K-4, 5-8, and 9-12 schools may want to be reconsidered in the future to best meet the developmental needs of students.