CUSD 300 staff propose moving parts of Hampshire attendance area to Jacobs to ease overcrowding; Gilberts residents urge exceptions

CUSD 300 staff presented a proposal Oct. 14 to shift portions of the Hampshire High School attendance boundary to Jacobs High School to relieve growing capacity pressures. Staff said demographers project roughly 4,166 additional students over the next 10 years, driven by 27 known or projected housing developments concentrated on the district’s west side, and reported current enrollment of 20,091 as of Sept. 30 (Cambridge Lake enrollment of 801 noted separately).

The boundary discussion focused on an initial plan presented Sept. 9 that would have extended the proposed line from Route 72 down to I‑90, and an updated alternative that preserves the Gilberts feeder cohort (Gilberts Elementary → Dundee Middle → Hampshire High) where feasible. Staff said Hampshire High School is projected to reach capacity in about four years while Jacobs has room to absorb the students now proposed for transfer.

The district described next steps: affected families will be notified, and the proposal is scheduled for a full‑board vote at the Oct. 28 board meeting. Staff stated that current 11th‑grade students would be allowed to remain at Hampshire for their senior year; current 8th graders in the proposed shift would begin at Jacobs next year; staff also said district representatives will contact current 9th‑ and 10th‑grade families with further information.

Dozens of public commenters from Dunhill Estates, Indian Trails and other parts of Gilberts urged the committee to keep those neighborhoods assigned to Hampshire High School and to allow current underclassmen to remain. One parent, speaking for his son, said the plan “would be detrimental to my son socially, emotionally, academically” and cited the importance of continuity. Jack Johnson, identified in public comment as a Hampshire sophomore, said, “making me switch would cause me to have to make a whole new set of friends,” and cited disruption to athletics and academic relationships.

Other commenters described multi‑school feeder relationships within Gilberts and asked the committee to permit current ninth‑ and tenth‑grade students to remain at Hampshire if boundaries change. Staff said they created the updated option after reviewing feeder patterns and community feedback; they also said they are removing an existing proposal for Eastview from consideration while they gather more information.

Staff placed the boundary proposal in the context of a broader master facility planning discussion. They noted that boundary changes are only one of several tools the district will consider as it addresses capacity limits at Hampshire Elementary, Hampshire Middle School and Hampshire High School. The district reiterated that additions and building modifications will be costly and that the master facility plan will examine funding options and timelines.

No final board action on the boundary proposal took place at the Oct. 14 operations meeting; staff recommended bringing the proposal to the Oct. 28 full board meeting for a vote and additional community engagement if the board advances the plan.