District outlines plan to relocate Shapiro students to Roosevelt, flags $150,000 bus cost

District staff presented a boundary-change scenario to the Facilities and Finance Committee and to the full board on Oct. 14 that would relocate students from the closing Shapiro Elementary to Roosevelt Elementary for the coming year.

Presenters said Roosevelt has capacity to receive 108 Shapiro students and that relocating them together would preserve cohorts and allow transportation to be scheduled to a single campus. The district proposed moving Shapiro staff to Roosevelt to ease the transition. Staff told the board that out-of-area families would be offered a choice to either follow their children to Roosevelt or return to their home schools.

Administrators rejected broader boundary shifts for Jefferson, Karl Traeger and Franklin elementary schools because construction and near-capacity enrollment at those sites would create additional disruption. The district estimated the transportation impact as roughly three new bus routes, at about $150,000 total, based on prior experience and routing needs.

Facilities and Finance Committee members said they want Shapiro families to be involved in the decision before the plan comes to the board for a formal vote. The next committee meeting was scheduled for Nov. 13.

Why it matters: Shapiro's closure requires careful placement of students and staff to minimize disruption and maintain program continuity. The proposal prioritizes keeping cohorts and staff together and notes a modest short-term transportation cost.

No formal board vote was recorded on the presented scenario. The Facilities and Finance Committee will continue work on boundary details and family engagement.