The Liberty Elementary School District Governing Board on Dec. 16 approved attendance boundaries tied to the district's new Loretta Zumbro Elementary School and heard a construction update showing the campus on schedule to open for the 2025-26 school year.

What happened: The board voted to adopt "scenario 6" as the recommended boundary plan, a map staff and consultants said best balances current enrollment and projected neighborhood growth while preserving flexibility for future adjustments. Vice President Chris Kenyon moved to adopt the recommendation; the motion passed 3-0.

Why it matters: Loretta Zumbro is the district's new K-6 school intended to relieve crowding at Blue Horizons and to provide near-term capacity in a high-growth corridor on Citrus Road. The adopted boundaries determine which neighborhoods are assigned to the new school and which remain at existing campuses.

Construction progress and timeline

- CORE Construction project director Whitney Bunn told the board the job is about 27% complete and on track for school opening in August 2025. "We are currently about 27% complete, and we are on track," she said.

- Work to date includes moving roughly 39,000 cubic yards of dirt, pouring about 1,400 cubic yards of concrete and installing more than 42,000 cinder blocks (CMU). Bunn said the project had logged roughly 13,500 labor hours through the end of the month and reported "0 neighbor complaints." She noted substantial deliveries of long-span trusses and glulam beams were underway.

Boundary decision and rationale

- Staff and demographer presentations identified growth concentrated along the Citrus Road corridor and in a nearby future-subdivision area. Trustees were told some development areas are not yet populated, which influenced the board's preference for a plan that provides capacity now while keeping options to adjust later.

- Scenario 6 was described by staff as the best-balanced option at the five-year forecast mark: it reduces Blue Horizons' projected utilization while preserving room for growth at Liberty and leaving flexibility if Amber Meadows / La Provada subdivisions build out faster than expected.

Board action

- Motion: Approve staff-recommended attendance boundary plan (scenario 6) for Loretta Zumbro Elementary, Las Brisas Academy and Blue Horizons beginning the 2025-26 school year.
- Mover: Vice President Chris Kenyon.
- Second: not specified on the record.
- Vote: Yes (3) — Chris Kenyon, Kelly Zimmerman, Brian Parks; No (0); Abstain (0).
- Outcome: Approved.

What's next: Staff said the approved boundaries will be communicated to families and posted to the district web site; families displaced by the boundary change will have the option to request open enrollment but would be responsible for transportation if they choose to remain at prior schools.

Ending note: District operations staff and CORE Construction emphasized a commitment to keep the board updated. "If any of you would like to come visit the site, don't hesitate to stop by and check-in at the trailer," Whitney Bunn said.