MSD Warren Township outlines redistricting process, schedules Jan. 5 community work session

Superintendent Tim Hansen of MSD Warren Township Schools and Assistant Superintendent Michael Sullivan briefed the community on the district’s enrollment-management and redistricting work, and announced a community work session for Jan. 5 at 6 p.m.

Hansen opened the update and introduced the district’s redistricting process, saying the work follows community engagements and surveys that produced seven focus groups. He said the session is informational and that "no decisions have been made," stressing the district remains in a fact-finding and planning phase.

The district convened seven focus groups this fall to study start and end times and other enrollment-management options. Sullivan, who led the focus group on school start and end times, said the group included administrators, parents, at least one student and several teachers, and that members discussed classroom aspirations and research needs.

"Feasibility of transportation," Sullivan said as a leading priority. He also highlighted concerns about ensuring students can access before- and after-school programs and creating avenues for parental input on start- and end-time decisions. "And, of course, ... paramount in that was safety," he added.

Hansen noted Sullivan’s prior experience with redistricting in another district and thanked him for his leadership. The superintendent said the district will present further updates at a work session on Jan. 5 at 6 p.m., when each focus group will report back and district demographer Anne Wolpert will provide data and projections.

Hansen closed by framing the effort as a midcourse review — "a halftime analogy" — saying the district is resetting and previewing next steps but has not made policy decisions. The community work session is intended to share findings and gather additional input before any formal proposals are drafted.