District outlines proposed inter‑district transfer slots and timeline; no action taken

Dr. Kalia Williams Rodriguez, North Clackamas School District chief of student and family services, briefed the board on March 13 about the district's proposed inter‑district transfer process and slot allocations for the 2025–26 school year. The presentation was a discussion item; the board did not take action.

Williams Rodriguez said the district's inter‑district transfer process is slot based: if requests exceed available slots, the district runs a lottery and any remaining openings are handled on a first‑come, first‑served basis. She noted the Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) allow for hardship transfers that are considered where space is available and that resident districts may release students to other districts, although not every district does so.

Key points Williams Rodriguez presented: - Provisional slot counts by school level: most elementary schools proposed five slots (spread across K–5 rather than per grade), Rock Creek Middle School proposed eight slots, and most middle and high schools proposed 10 slots each, with some school‑specific variations based on capacity analysis. - The district uses five‑year "flow analytics" and capacity projections to decide whether to open a school for transfers; schools projected to exceed capacity will be closed to incoming transfers for the year. - The proposed timeline: the board will receive an action item in April; pending adoption, the district will open the application period, review requests, run lotteries where necessary, and close placements once capacity is determined. Williams Rodriguez said the total number of slots being requested across schools equates to 21 (district‑wide allocation described in the presentation). - The district retains discretion to revoke transfers if families do not meet terms of transfer agreements.

Board members asked whether the allocations can be adjusted after approval and where flexibility exists. Williams Rodriguez said once the board approves the allocation she will not move numbers, but the district retains some flexibility through hardship requests and will carefully staff based on projections. She underscored that the district reviews grade‑level class sizes (for example, kindergarten is hard to predict) and coordinates with elementary programs before confirming seats.

Board members also asked for context on outflow vs inflow; Williams Rodriguez reported roughly 62 students entered the district via inter‑district transfer in the last period while about 115 requested releases to leave the district, with overall enrollment remaining steady. The board asked staff to return with the item for an April vote.