Dublin City Schools outlines plan and timeline for high‑school redistricting

Dr. John Marshhausen, superintendent of the Dublin City Schools, said in a webinar that the district is beginning a formal high‑school redistricting process to rebalance uneven enrollment across its three high schools and avoid asking taxpayers for new operating levies.

The redistricting effort is intended to reduce crowding at Dublin Jerome High School, spread enrollment more evenly among Dublin Jerome, Dublin Coffman High School and Dublin Scioto High School, and produce boundaries that will remain stable for about a decade, Marshhausen said. "We haven't even started the process yet ... we haven't done a single map yet," he told viewers.

The issue: growth, funding and capacity

Marshhausen framed the process as a response to sustained growth at Dublin Jerome and the district's funding structure. He said Dublin Jerome's enrollment stood at about 2,071 students, Dublin Coffman about 1,800 and Dublin Scioto about 1,500. "We are over 85% funded by your local property taxes," he said, adding that the district receives the state's minimum operating share. Marshhausen said the district cannot rely on a near‑term levy to pay for new capacity.

What the district will do and when

Cropper GIS, represented by Matt Cropper, will draw draft boundary options using enrollment projections, housing studies and other criteria the district sets. Key dates Marshhausen outlined: a public information session with Cropper GIS on Aug. 26, a first public reveal of draft maps on Sept. 29 at Dublin Jerome and Coffman High Schools, and a final map presentation to the Board of Education on Nov. 10 at Dublin Scioto High School. Marshhausen said the schedule is designed so counselors can finish scheduling in December for the 2026–27 school year; he said the Scioto addition is expected to be ready for the 2026–27 school year.

The district plans to let students who begin high school at their current school in 2025–26 choose whether to remain there once new boundaries take effect. "They can stay in the high school that they started attending ... or they can move to the new high school if their residence moves for the 2026–27 school year," Marshhausen said. He added that transportation will not be provided for families who choose to remain at their original high school: "If you choose to stay at your current high school, you'll have to get there. ... The cost to double route high schools isn't practical."

Factors and studies that will shape maps

Marshhausen and Cropper said the internal planning committee will ask Cropper GIS to prioritize longevity of balanced enrollment, transportation impacts, feeder patterns and proximity. Cropper said the team will study comments and use traffic data and time‑of‑day travel estimates to test boundary options: "The traffic study is gonna be a very useful piece of information to help inform us." The district said Wolpert (formerly Cooperative Strategies) has provided enrollment and housing projections and a housing study to inform where future growth may occur.

Alternatives considered

Marshhausen said the district considered building a fourth high school but rejected it as fiscally impractical now, citing an estimated low‑end construction cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars and the difficulty of operating an additional high school. He also said the district evaluated nontraditional options such as expanded online offerings and additional use of Emerald Campus or Tolles, but those options were constrained by space and community preference for in‑person instruction.

Public input and how comments will be used

Cassie Dietrich, the district public information officer, and Cropper said community feedback will be collected via the Cropper GIS website and at public meetings. Cropper said his team reviews every comment and weighs whether each suggestion moves draft maps closer to the stated objectives: "Sometimes one comment from a person will necessitate a move or could drive a change to a map." Marshhausen reiterated that the district delayed portions of the process into the fall to maximize public engagement.

Policies and limits

Marshhausen noted district policy deadlines for intradistrict open‑enrollment requests (a May 1 deadline) and said the board added an addendum that will suspend intradistrict open enrollment for three years after redistricting to help preserve stability: "Once we get to 2026–27, nobody's going to any other high schools other than the ones that are in their attendance." He also told families that while proximity and walking distance will be considered, the district cannot promise any individual household will be exempt from reassignment.

Next steps

The district will publish information and collect input on the redistricting website, hold the Aug. 26 public session, post draft maps Sept. 29 and present final maps to the Board of Education on Nov. 10. Marshhausen said the goal is to create boundaries that reduce the need for another redistricting for about 10 years. "If things are in the ballpark, yes," Matt Cropper said of achieving that timeline.

For more information, the district directed residents to the Dublin City Schools redistricting website and to subscribe to the district newsletter for updates.