walnut creek school district · the walnut creek school district is an elementary school district...

Walnut Creek School District

PROPOSED

BOUNDARY STUDY

REALIGNMENT OF ATTENDANCE AREAS

TOTAL SCHOOL SOLUTIONS

4751 MANGELS BOULEVARD

FAIRFIELD, CA 94534

(707) 422-6393

(707) 422-6494 (fax)

JANUARY 20, 2015

Walnut Creek School District

GOVERNING BOARD

Elizabeth Bettis, Board President

Katie Peña, Board Clerk

Sherri McGoff, Member

Aimee Moss, Member

Barbara S. Pennington, Member

ADMINISTRATION

Patty Wool, Ed.D., Superintendent

Kevin Collins, Ed.D., Chief Business Official

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FOREWORD

After considerable study by the Governing Board, the District administration and the community

regarding future enrollments, attendance boundary issues and the decision to take back

possession of the Dorris-Eaton campus and open a K-8 open-enrollment school at that site in

2015-16, the District is now ready to consider the final two-step process:

1) Realign current attendance boundaries to meet desired enrollment goals at each of the

existing K-5 schools based on students’ place of residence.

2) Determine the educational programs to be offered at the new school and open student

registration on a District-wide open-enrollment basis as of February 18, 2015.

This report addresses the first step outlined above. As noted, the second step will require the

District to establish the initial grades to be housed, the educational programs to be offered and

the open-enrollment selection criteria to be followed.

Vern Weber

Total School Solutions

January 20, 2015

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INTRODUCTION

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE WALNUT CREEK SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Walnut Creek School District is an elementary school district located in Walnut Creek in

Contra Costa County, one of nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Four school districts

serve the community – the Walnut Creek School District, the Acalanes Union High School

District, the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, and the San Ramon Valley Unified School

District.

In 2014-15, the District is serving a total of 3,613 elementary school (K-5) and middle school (6-

8) students. The District has five K-5 elementary schools and one 6-8 middle school. Most

students transition to the Acalanes Union High School District upon completion of the eighth

grade.

WALNUT CREEK CITY AND SCHOOL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES

The following map outlines the boundaries of the Walnut Creek School District (black line) and

the City of Walnut Creek (Zoning Map boundaries).

Within the Walnut Creek School District boundary are a number of unincorporated areas, shown

as outlined areas in subdued, non-colored tones. These unincorporated areas are principally

residential communities, mostly built out. The exceptions include three proposed developments

in the area west of I-680 and south of Hwy 24: Saranap Village (54.9 acres, 235 units),

Westborough (20.9 acres, 14 units) and the old Tice Valley site (81 units)..

The territory east of the Walnut Creek School District is in the Mt. Diablo Unified School

District and consists of a considerable amount of land within the City of Walnut Creek. This

territory begins east on Treat Blvd. starting at Candelero/Tampico and east on Ygnacio Valley

Road starting at Marchbanks.

A small part of the City of Walnut Creek to the northwest of the Walnut Creek School District is

in the Mt. Diablo School District and is bounded by N. Main Street and San Luis Road.

A small part of the City of Walnut Creek to the south of the Walnut Creek School District is in

the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and lies east of I-680 and Sugarloaf Open Space.

For reference, a map of the Walnut Creek School District, a map of the current attendance

boundaries of the five K-5 schools and a description of the transitional areas under consideration

to realign attendance boundaries, along with accompanying maps, are included.

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WALNUT CREEK SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE CITY OF WALNUT CREEK

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K-5 SCHOOL BOUNDARIES – SEE COLORED MAP

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DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFER AREAS

The descriptions of the areas under consideration to be transferred from a current attendance area

to a new attendance area are defined below. Only streets that currently have students residing on

them are included in the lists of streets, but the areas are inclusive of all streets contained within

the boundaries.

Transfer Area 1 –Indian Valley to Walnut Heights

Area bounded by Oak Road (west), Creek (east), Las Juntas (north) and Contra Costa Canal

(south). This area is currently in the Indian Valley attendance area.

Streets BV IV M P WH Total

(Treat Blvd Cedarbrook Court - 1 - - - 1

& S of Treat Elmwood Ct/Dr - 6 - - 2 8

to CC Canal) Haven Ln - 2 - - - 2

Jones Rd/Pl 23 2 1 1 3 30

Parnell Court - 1 - - 1 2

Ravenwood Drive - 3 - - - 3

Treat Blvd. 3 7 6 2 2 20

Subtotals 26 22 7 3 8 66

(Area N of Harvey Drive 2 8 - - - 10

Treat Blvd) Honey Trail - 2 - - - 2

Mayhew Way - 1 - - - 1

Briarwood Way - 1 - 1 - 2

Roble Road - 4 - 1 - 5

Santos Ln. 4 10 3 1 4 22

Sunne Ln. 5 9 - 1 4 19

Subtotals 11 35 3 4 8 61

Totals 37 57 10 7 16 127

Transfer Area 2 – Indian Valley to Buena Vista

Area bounded by Oak Road (west), Iron Horse (east), Contra Costa Canal (north) and Ygnacio

Valley Road (south). This area is currently in the Indian Valley attendance area.


(Area W of Joann Court - 1 - - - 1

Iron Horse & Kingston Pl./Way 3 1 - - 1 5

S of CC Oak Road 16 42 5 3 5 71

Canal) Walden Rd. 2 1 - - 1 4

Subtotals 21 45 5 3 7 81

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Transfer Area 3 – Indian Valley to Walnut Heights

Area bounded by Iron Horse (west), Walnut Blvd. (east), Ygnacio Valley Road (north) and

Newell extension east to north end of Shell Ridge (south). This area is currently in the Indian

Valley attendance area.


(W of Walnut Ahwahnee Ct. - 3 - - - 3

& S of Bradley Ave. - 4 - - 3 7

Ygnacio) Brasero Ln. - 1 - 2 - 3

Edmund Court - 1 - - - 1

Greenway Dr. - 4 - 2 - 6

Gregg Way - 2 - - - 2

McGuire Drive - 1 - - - 1

Norlyn Drive - 5 - - 2 7

Sharene Lane 1 16 3 3 4 27

Sierra Dr./Ln 3 17 3 1 - 24

Sutters Mill Court - 1 - - 2 3

Ygnacio Valley Rd 7 - 1 1 1 10_

Totals 11 55 7 9 12 94

Transfer Area 4 – Indian Valley to Walnut Heights

This area is bounded by Main Street (west), Iron Horse (east), Civic Drive (north) and Newell

Avenue (south). This area is currently in the Indian Valley attendance area.


(E of Main & Carmel Ct/Dr - 13 - - 1 14

S of Civic) Lincoln Ave. 1 4 - 1 3 9

S of Civic) Mt. Pisgah Rd 1 8 4 - 2 15

Village Court - 2 - - - 2

Totals 2 27 4 1 6 40

Transfer Area 5 – Indian Valley to Buena Vista

This area is bounded by Main Street (west), Civic Drive (east and south) and Ygnacio Valley

Road (north). This area is currently in the Indian Valley attendance area.


(N. Civic) N. Civic Dr. 51 2 1 3 9 66

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Transfer Area 6 – Buena Vista to Walnut Heights

This area is bounded by I-680 (west), Main Street (east), Ygnacio Valley Road (north) and Mt.

Diablo Blvd. (south). This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.


(N of Mt. Almond Ave. 7 - - 1 - 8

Diablo & Brooks Street - - - 1 - 1

W of Main) Cole Avenue 1 - - 2 - 3

Dora Avenue - - - - 2 2

Lacassie Ave./Ct. 4 1 3 - - 8

N. California Blvd 1 - 1 2 - 4

Oakland Blvd. 13 1 1 - 1 16

Sharp Avenue - - - - 1 1

Shuey Ave. 6 3 - 1 - 10

Trinity Ave. 18 - 1 5 - 24

Subtotals 50 5 6 12 4 77

Transfer Area 7 – Buena Vista to Parkmead

This area is bounded by I-680 (west and south), Main Street (east) and Mt. Diablo Blvd. (north).

This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.


(S of Mt. Alma Ave. 3 1 - - - 4

Diablo & Alpine Road 1 - - - - 1

W of Main) Botelho Drive 8 - - 1 - 9

Subtotals 12 1 - 1 - 14

Transfer Area 8 – Buena Vista to Parkmead

This area is bounded by the District boundary (west), I-680 (east), Acalanes Ridge Open Space

(north) and Hwy. 24 (south). This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.


(S of Acalanes Hillcroft Way 1 - - 2 - 3

Ridge Open Placer Ridge Rd. - - - 1 - 1

Space) Rebecca Court 1 - - - - 1

Regency Court - 2 - - - 2

Springbrook Road 11 - - - - 11

Subtotals 13 2 - 3 - 18

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Transfer Area 9 –Buena Vista to Parkmead

This area is bounded by the District boundary (west), I-680 (east) and the southern region below

Springside Road and Overlook Drive. This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.


(S of OverlookCarmello Road 2 - - - - 2

& Springside) Cuesta Way - - - 1 - 1

Galen Drive - - - 1 - 1

Loma Vista 1 - - - - 1

Miramonte Road (1/2) 6 - - 1 - 7

Montecito Crescent 2 - - - 1 3

Oakvale Road 6 - - 1 - 7

Terrace Road/Way 8 1 - 1 1 11

Vista Hermosa 9 - - - - 9

Subtotals 34 1 - 5 2 42

Transfer Area 10 –Buena Vista to Parkmead

This area is bounded by the District boundary (west), I-680 (east), the northern region Acalanes

Ridge Open Space (north) and the area south, including Springside Road and Overlook Drive.

This area is currently in the Buena Vista attendance area.


(S of Acalanes E. Park Court 2 - - - - 2

Ridge Open Hillside Ave./Ct. 6 - - - 1 7

Space) Hilltop Crescent 4 - - - 2 6

Jocelyn Pl. 2 - - - - 2

Midvale Court 1 - - - - 1

Miramonte Road (1/2) 6 - - 1 - 7

Overlook Drive 12 - - 2 1 15

Park Terrace 1 - - - - 1

Rosemont Court 1 - - - - 1

Springside Road 4 - - - - 4

Tiburon Court 1 2 - - - 3

Subtotals 40 2 - 3 4 49

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Transition Area Map 1

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BOUNDARY REALIGNMENT

Based on District records, the following enrollments impact the K-5 schools:

Category_________________ BV IV M P WH Total

Current Enrollment 546 489 414 508 425 2,382

Intradistrict Transfers In (62) (63) (61) (114) (165) (465)

Intradistrict Transfers Out 123 181 114 30 17 465

Students Living in Current 607 607 467 424 277 2,382

Boundary

The above data include all intradistrict transfers regardless of category. For a complete

disclosure, the breakdown of intradistrict transfers by category, and interdistrict transfers

attending the K-5 schools, are presented for information:

Category BV IV M P WH Total Inter

Open Enrollment or Redirect 58 54 47 56 151 366 14

PALS 50 50 10

Program Improvement 2 1 1 4 3

SDC 4 7 5 16 5

TK 9 7 13 29 2

Students Living in Current 62 63 61 114 165 465 34

The District has set a target enrollment based on students residing in the current boundaries as

follows:


Students Living in Current 607 607 467 424 277 2,382

Boundary

Desired Enrollment Increase/ (77) (190) 2 113 152 0

(Decrease)

Revised Boundary Target 530 417 469 537 429 2,382

Enrollment

To achieve the above desired enrollment increases and decreases, a study of each K-5 school is

presented in the following sections, along with the areas to be considered for transfer. In

determining what areas to be transferred to realign attendance boundaries, it should be

understood that precise enrollments cannot be realized for a number of reasons: 1) population

mobility means that some current students will leave the District while new students will enter

the District, and those new students will not reside on the same streets or enter the same grades;

2) over time, students who remain in their residences will pass through the grades and new

students will enter school as kindergarteners, thereby impacting enrollment; 3) the District will

experience significant residential construction that will add new students to some attendance

areas; 4) there is a projected increase in kindergarten enrollment due to increased births; 5) if

“grandfathering” is allowed; i.e., allowing students to remain at a school outside of the realigned

attendance area, that would significantly impact the numbers of students being reassigned.

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After establishing the revised boundary target enrollments, it is estimated that open-enrollment

registration to the new school, with a capacity for 400 K-8 students (230 K-5 and 170 6-8),

would have the following estimated impacts on the K-5 schools. While the actual number of

students from each attendance area will not be known until open-enrollment registration occurs,

the estimates are based on proximity to the Dorris-Eaton campus. Based on this assumption, it is

estimated that the greatest number of students would come from Parkmead, Buena Vista and

Murwood attendance areas.


Revised Boundary Target 530 417 469 537 429 2,382

Enrollment

Estimated Transfers to the (59) (27) (56) (60) (28) (230)

New School

Estimated Final Enrollment 470 390 413 477 401 2,152

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SUMMARY

If boundaries were realigned as presented in the sections for each K-5 school, the following

approximate impacts would be realized:

Transfer Buena Indian Walnut Net

Area Vista Valley Murwood Parkmead Heights Impact

1 - (57) - - 57 -

2 60 (45) - - (7) 8

3 - (55) - - 55 -

4 - (27) - - 27 -

5 15 (2) - - (9) 4

6 (50) - - - 50 -

7 (12) - - 13 - 1

8 (13) - - 15 - 2

9 (34) - - 37 - 3

10 (40) - - 46 - 6

Net Impact (74) (186) - 111 173 24

Desired Goal (77) (190) - 113 152 -

While the impacts are reasonably balanced, it is virtually impossible to perfectly balance

enrollments when making boundary adjustments for the reasons discussed above.

It is suggested that, whatever realignment decisions are made, time be granted to allow for

enrollments to stabilize. Also, the impact of the open-enrollment registration policy for the new

school at the Dorris-Eaton campus could differ from the assumptions made by the District. After

new boundary decisions are made, if enrollments differ significantly from the desired

enrollments after passage of a few years, the boundary realignment issue could be revisited.

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BUENA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Buena Vista:

Current Enrollment 546

Intradistrict Transfers In (62)

Intradistrict Transfers Out 123_

Students Living In Current Boundary 607

The District has set a target enrollment based on students residing in the current boundary as

follows:


Desired Enrollment Decrease ( 77)_

Revised Boundary Target Enrollment 530

After establishing the revised boundary target enrollment, it is estimated that open-enrollment

registration to the new school, with a capacity for 400 students, would have the following

estimated impact on Buena Vista enrollment:


Estimated Transfers to New School (60)_

Estimated Final Enrollment 470

To meet the above goal, one option to consider for adjusting Buena Vista enrollment to reduce it

by approximately 77 students consists of transferring K-5 students into Buena Vista from

Transfer Areas 2 and 5 and transferring K-5 students out of Buena Vista from Transfer Areas 6,

7, 8 and 9. It should be noted that Buena Vista students already residing in Transfer Areas 2 and

5 do not impact BV enrollment, but students attending IV, M, P and WC would be transferred. In

a similar manner, only Buena Vista students residing in Transfer Areas 6, 7, 8 and 9 would be

transferred out of BV.

The transfers identified above would have the following approximate impact, thereby essentially

achieving the desired goal of reducing Buena Vista enrollment by 77:

Increases in Enrollment

Transfer Area 2 60

Transfer Area 5 15

Total 75

Decreases in Enrollment

Transfer Area 6 (50)




Total (149)

Net Impact (74)

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INDIAN VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Indian Valley:



Intradistrict Transfers Out 181



follows:


Desired Enrollment Decrease (190)




estimated impact on Indian Valley enrollment:


Estimated Transfers to New School (27)


To meet the above goal, one option to consider for adjusting Indian Valley enrollment to reduce

it by approximately 190 students consists of transferring K-5 students out of Transfer Areas 1

through and 5. It should be noted that only Indian Valley students residing in Transfer Areas 1

through 5 would be transferred out of Indian Valley. If students in Transition Area 1 who attend

other schools were to be reassigned, enrollment imbalances would occur.

The transfers identified above would have the following approximate impact on Indian Valley.

The transfer of 186 students out of Indian Valley meets the desired reduction goal of 190

students.

Decreases in Enrollment





Transfer Area 5 ( 2)

Total (186)

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MURWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Murwood:






follows:


Desired Enrollment Increase 2_




estimated impact on Murwood enrollment:




Because the estimated final enrollment of 413 closely matches the current enrollment of 414,

there is no need to transfer any students into or out of Murwood. However, if Murwood students

who reside in the transition areas under consideration for realignment were to be included, there

would be a small decrease in Murwood enrollment.

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PARKMEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Parkmead:






follows:





registration to the new school, with a capacity for 400 K-8 students (230 K-5 and 170 6-8),

would have the following estimated impact on Parkmead enrollment:




To meet the above goal, one option to consider for transferring approximately 113 K-5 students

into Parkmead entail transferring students residing in Transfer Areas 7, 8 and 9. It should be

noted that Parkmead students already residing in Transfer Areas 7, 8 and 9 do not impact

Parkmead enrollment, but students attending BV, IV, M and WC would be transferred. These

transfers would have the following approximate impact on Parkmead. The transfer of 112

students into Parkmead meets the desired goal of increasing enrollment by 113 students.

Increases in Enrollment

Transfer Area 7 13

Transfer Area 8 15

Transfer Area 9 83

Total 112

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WALNUT HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Based on District records, the following enrollments impact Walnut Heights:






follows:






estimated impact on Walnut Heights enrollment:




The transfer of students in Transfer Areas 2 and 5 to Buena Vista reduced Walnut Heights

enrollments by 7 and 9 students respectively. To meet the overall goal, one option to consider for

increasing Walnut Heights enrollment consists of transferring Indian Valley students from

Transfer Areas 1, 3, and 4 and transferring Buena Vista students from Transfer Area 6. This

would have the following approximate impact. The transfer of approximately173 students into

Walnut Heights exceeds the desired increase of 152 students, but makes a significant impact

toward achieving the desired goal.

Changes in Enrollment

Transfer Area 1 57

Transfer Area 2 (7)

Transfer Area 3 55

Transfer Area 4 27

Transfer Area 5 (9)

Transfer Area 6 50

Total 173

Current WCSD School

Boundary Map

Buena Vista

Indian Valley

Parkmead

Walnut Heights

Murwood

Area 1 57 Students

To: Walnut Heights

Area 2 60 Students

To: Buena Vista

Area 5 15 Students

To: Buena Vista

Area 3 55 Students

To: Walnut Heights

Area 4 27 Students

To: Walnut Heights

Buena Vista

Walnut Heights

Indian Valley

Indian Valley

Transfer Areas from


Murwood

Parkmead

Buena Vista

Walnut Heights

Area 10 40 Students

To: Parkmead

Area 9 34 Students

To: Parkmead

Area 8 15 Students

To: Parkmead

Area 650 Students

To: Walnut Heights

Area 7 13 Students

To: Parkmead

Buena Vista

Transfer Areas from


Buena Vista

Indian Valley

Parkmead

Walnut Heights

Murwood


Boundary Map Proposal

Buena Vista

Area 1040 Students

Buena Vista

Transfer Areas

OPTIONS

Transfer Area 10 Option:

Because students in Transfer Area are

much closer to Buena Vista than Parkmead,

this area could remain in the Buena Vista

zoned to Buena Vista.

If this area remains with Buena Vista,

Buena Vista will have approximately 40

more students than the “target”, while

Parkmead would have 40 students less

than the “target”.

Parkmead

Area 1 57 Students

Area 2 60 Students

Buena Vista

Walnut Heights

Indian Valley

Indian Valley

Transfer Areas

OPTIONS

Transfer Areas 1 and 2 Option:

Students in Area 1 have been moved to

Walnut Heights to achieve target enrollments.

Walnut Heights is as close as or closer than

Indian Valley to most addresses in the area.

However, this would leave an attendance

“island” which may not be desirable.

Area 1 could be zoned to Buena Vista. To

achieve balance, Students in Area 2 could then

be zoned to Walnut Heights.

Because current enrollment in these areas are

nearly equal, the change would not affect

overall school enrollment.

Buena Vista

Indian Valley

Parkmead

Walnut Heights

Murwood

Proposal

With OPTIONS

Areas 1, 2 and 10

Area 1 to Buena Vista

Area 2 to Walnut Heights

Enrollment Impact: Very low

Area 10 Remains at Buena Vista

Enrollment Impact: Buena Vista

increases by 40 students, Parkmead

reduced by 40 students

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