SD U-46 presents districtwide attendance boundary proposal to balance enrollment

District staff presented a proposed attendance-boundary map for School District U-46 at a public meeting, outlining plans to redraw lines across nearly every school in the district to balance enrollment, retire older buildings and align students with newly funded facilities.

The proposal affects all 55 district buildings and nearly 35,000 students, district staff said. The plan, funded by the districts 2023 bond referendum and developed through the Unite U46 process, would close two existing middle schools (Abbott on the west side of Elgin and Ellis on the east side of Elgin), open a new Bartlett middle school at the former Hawk Hollow site, and establish a new middle school on Rorson Road near Hilltop Elementary.

Why it matters: District staff said aging buildings, some more than 100 years old, combined with pockets of overcrowding and declining enrollment, limit the districts ability to provide consistent programs and facilities. The bond referendum approved in 2023 provides funding for upgrades and new construction intended to give students access to more modern, accessible and flexible learning environments, staff said.

How the plan was developed: A district staff member said the boundary scenarios were created using software from a company called Baragor, which uses birth data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, new housing-development information and current enrollment to predict future student populations. Staff said they applied community-developed planning criteria that prioritize travel distance/time, consistent feeder patterns (keeping elementary, middle and high school cohorts together when possible), neighborhood continuity, sibling placement and avoiding multiple boundary changes in consecutive years.

Selected changes described by staff include: - Otter Creeks western area would shift to Fox Meadow and parts of the Otter Creek zone would be reassigned to Willard, including an apartment complex at Randall and McDonald that currently supplies about 12 students to U-46. - Portions of Clintons far-northern area would move to Hough; some South Elgin streets would move from Clinton to Nature Ridge in Bartlett to reduce Clintons enrollment to nearer the buildings design capacity. - Two middle schools, Abbott and Ellis, would close. Abbotts students would be split between Kimball (north portion) and Kenyon Woods (south portion). Elliss students would move largely to the new Elgin Middle School on Rorson Road; Larson would pick up portions of northeast Elgin and Hoffman Estates. - The new Bartlett Middle School (the Hawk Hollow site) will serve seventh graders next school year; the Rorson Road site will open later and serve students primarily from Elgin and parts of Hoffman Estates. - Canton and Kenyon Woods elementary schools will add dual-language programming so students enrolled in dual-language will no longer need to travel to different elementary sites for that program. - The only high-school boundary change proposed is a shift of a Wayne Elementary section (west of Route 59 and south of Stearns Road) from South Elgin High School to Bartlett High School to align with the new Bartlett middle and elementary boundaries.

Staff emphasized that the plan aims to balance enrollment across district schools by adjusting boundaries to better match building capacity, current and projected enrollment trends, and development patterns.

A parent who said her family recently moved from Hawk Hollow to Spring Trail described the transition as positive. "The transition to our new school was smooth, and we felt supported throughout the process. We had many opportunities to connect with our new school community before the transition. Both of our girls quickly formed new friendships and adapted seamlessly. Thanks to the support that we were given throughout this process," the parent said.

Staff noted some newly built housing near Hobbs and Randall and a large apartment complex behind the Jewel at Randall and McDonald, but said current yields from those developments are low or uncertain and are not expected to cause a large influx of students immediately.

Next steps and community input: Staff said the maps presented reflect community priorities developed during prior Unite U46 engagement and that the district has invited parents, staff and community members to review and provide feedback on the proposed scenarios. Staff described additional supports the district plans to offer to families through transitions: staff help, family resources and ongoing communication.

No formal vote or board action on the boundary map was recorded in the provided transcript excerpts; the presentation laid out proposals and context and solicited public review and input.

Ending: The district presentation concluded with an overview of the districtwide map and an invitation for further community review; staff said the full set of proposed boundaries and supporting materials are available for review as the district continues the planning and outreach process.