District to shift Pershing area to Lake Early Learning Center as enrollment grows; third site planned long term

An administrator identified as Jay presented proposed boundary adjustments for the district's early learning centers to rebalance enrollment as new classrooms are added.

Jay said the district has more classrooms at Lake Early Learning Center because space is available there and that the district will add another Lake classroom next year. To balance enrollment, staff proposed moving the Pershing feeder area into Lake's boundary rather than Mark Twain's. "So, basically, we're just saying that if they are in the area of Pershing, they will attend Lake next year," Jay said. The presenter described the feeder-line map and explained the practical reasons including bus routing: a north-side bus barn provides relatively direct access for the adjusted route, staff said.

Staff described busing constraints for early learning (door-to-door routes rather than fixed stops), with a target maximum ride time of about 45 minutes, though routes sometimes approach an hour depending on stops and vehicle capacity. Jay said Head Start partners will also route their students to Lake under the change, which simplifies dual-service busing. Jay said after the district's final wave of enrollments is processed this month, Lake will have limited remaining seats and Mark Twain will have only a couple of openings; long-range plans include establishing a third early learning center (a future bird site was mentioned).

Board members asked about ride times, route fairness and where future early learning sites might be located; staff said they are continuing to work with the bus company and academic services and that long-range planning includes a proposed third site in the northern area to reduce travel times. No formal boundary adoption vote occurred at the meeting; staff will implement next-year feeder changes and continue planning for a third site.