Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Open Enrollment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
South Washington County Schools board limits open enrollment, raises capacity thresholds
Summary
The school board approved a resolution tightening open enrollment limits, raising closure thresholds for elementary and middle schools to 95% capacity and for high schools to 100%, and updated individual school capacity numbers. Applications will be accepted Dec. 1–Jan. 15, with decision letters by Feb. 15.
The South Washington County Schools board approved a resolution Thursday limiting nonresident open enrollment by setting updated capacity thresholds and school-specific capacity numbers.
Assistant Superintendent Kelly Jansen told the board the resolution defines “capacity” to include available space, need for additional staff, or whether adding a student would cause a material change to a program’s operation. The resolution raises the closure threshold for elementary and middle schools to 95% capacity and sets high schools to close to open enrollment when they reach 100% capacity.
The change alters several school capacity figures. Jansen told the board Liberty Ridge’s capacity will be adjusted to 917; Red Rock Elementary to 683; Altman Middle School to 1,294; Woodbury Middle School to 1,218; and East Ridge High School to 2,302. The district said it plans a full reclassification of capacities for all schools during the 2027–28 school-year planning cycle, contingent on construction staying on schedule.
Jansen said that, using the new capacity numbers and current enrollment, Pine Hill, Bailey and Grey Cloud elementary schools would be closed to new open-enrollment applications now. Valley Crossing and Nuevas Fronteras — both choice programs — were noted as operating under separate lotteries and priority processes and are treated differently in placement decisions.
Board members asked for clarification about the open-enrollment wait lists and how they interact with closed schools. Jansen said families list first, second and third choices on applications; when a requested school is closed the district offers a geographically available alternative, and applicants may choose to remain on a wait list for their requested school.
Jansen also confirmed capacity calculations include students partially enrolled online and that the district currently reports roughly 40 fully online high-school students (she said she would confirm the exact number). The timeline in the resolution sets the application window from Dec. 1 through Jan. 15 and requires decision letters to be mailed to families by Feb. 15.
The board voted to approve the open-enrollment resolution. The motion passed on a roll-call vote.
