Appleton school board reviews three options to set attendance boundaries for new Sandy Slope Elementary

The Appleton Area School District board on Wednesday reviewed three proposed attendance-boundary options for the new Sandy Slope Elementary, each of which would redraw part of the current Huntley Elementary attendance area north of Highway 41.

Assistant Superintendent Ebony Grice said the district is proposing boundaries to make Sandy Slope a neighborhood school north of Highway 41 and to reduce Huntley’s current more-than-10-square-mile attendance area. District staff described three options that differ mainly in how much of the north-side development is assigned to Sandy Slope versus Ferber Elementary.

The district says the new school has capacity for 600 students. Grice reported that about 249 students currently living in the area proposed for Sandy Slope now attend Huntley; another 67 Huntley-area students live in the Huntley attendance boundary but attend other schools. Officials said those counts and family choices will feed staffing decisions once boundaries are finalized.

District staff framed the options against seven criteria discussed at an Oct. 28 work session: geographic proximity, enrollment capacity, feeder patterns, neighborhood integrity, transportation and safe routes, demographic balance, and growth/future development. All three options use Broadway as the north edge and the district’s eastern boundary; the main dividing line under consideration is Highway 41.

Option 1 would assign all land north of Highway 41 to Sandy Slope, making Sandy Slope roughly six square miles and reducing Huntley to about four square miles. Staff said that option best preserves neighborhood continuity north of 41 but leaves the new school exposed to large future growth in the so-called Thrivent property and other nearby developments.

Option 2 would move a smaller north-side block (presenters labeled it a discrete block for discussion) into Ferber’s attendance area rather than Sandy Slope. That change would keep more future capacity available at Sandy Slope and would bring Ferber closer to capacity sooner, staff said. Option 2 is offered by administration as a middle ground.

Option 3 would shift the block from Option 2 to Ferber and additionally reserve a portion of the Thrivent-area development for Ferber. Staff said Option 3 most directly protects Sandy Slope capacity but carries the greatest uncertainty because the Thrivent-area streets and parcel layouts are not finalized; drawing boundaries now could split future neighborhoods.

Grice and district staff identified two recurring concerns: limited safe walking and biking routes from parts of the proposed Sandy Slope attendance area (Edgewood Drive lacks continuous sidewalks), and uncertainty about how many elementary students multifamily development in the Thrivent area will yield. Staff showed an estimate — using local ratios — that 700 single-family homes could generate roughly 117 elementary students from single-family units alone, with additional, unspecified numbers from apartments.

Superintendent Hartges and staff emphasized process and timing: the board was told staff plan two community listening sessions (one at Huntley this Wednesday and one at Ferber next week, both 6:30–7:30 p.m.), will take feedback, and hope to present a recommendation for board approval at the Nov. 25 meeting. If the board approves on Nov. 25, district staff intend to send an “intent to attend” survey to Huntley families on Nov. 26 and to close that survey Dec. 9 to inform initial staffing projections in mid-January.

Board members asked about long-term capacity implications and whether Ferber could absorb projected growth; staff said Ferber currently enrolls about 501 students and has a 90%-capacity threshold around 608 students (fully utilized capacity). Officials said Sandy Slope will likely open with roughly 300 students and has room to grow but the Thrivent-related growth could fill Sandy Slope quickly if most new units draw neighborhood students.

Administration said it will continue coordinating with Hoffman (district planning consultant), city and county officials, and facilities staff to refine development projections and safe-route planning. Several board members suggested delaying final assignment of portions of the Thrivent property until road alignments and parcel plans are finalized.

No boundary decision was taken Wednesday. The board and administration said they expect additional public input at the listening sessions and will return with a recommendation on Nov. 25; staff flagged potential implementation tasks for administrators and human resources if the board approves boundaries.