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Osseo Public School District unveils two attendance-boundary scenarios; thousands of elementary and middle students could move
Summary
District officials presented two updated attendance-boundary scenarios that would affect between about 2,000 and 2,600 students (updated from earlier proposals affecting roughly 4,600), set a May board decision and 2026 implementation for most students, and offered a temporary 'hold harmless' option for current fifth- and eighth-graders.
Dr. Kim Heil, class superintendent of the schools for the Osseo Public School District, opened an information session outlining why the district is proposing changes to elementary and middle school attendance boundaries.
Heil said the district serves roughly 21,000 students across 31 buildings, spans parts of eight communities and that shifting enrollment and new housing in the district’s northwest have created significant capacity imbalances. “We have a lot of information that we're gonna share tonight,” Heil said, explaining the goal of the meeting was to present updated scenarios and collect community feedback.
John Morrissette, executive director of finance and operations, summarized two updated scenarios produced after community input and core-team review. He said the January proposals previously would have moved about 4,600 elementary and middle school students; the revised options now under consideration would move roughly 2,600 students under Scenario 1a and about 2,000 under Scenario 2a. Morrissette said the scenarios were shaped by community-built parameters including transportation, building utilization, enrollment projections, demographic balance, neighborhood integrity and walk-zone standards.
Scenario 1a, Morrissette said, would reduce the number of elementary schools that split feeders to multiple middle schools, eliminate several noncontiguous attendance areas and improve building efficiency; it would affect about 400 fewer students than January’s Scenario 1. Scenario 2a is smaller in scale, with fewer changes and an emphasis on minimizing the number of families required to move.
Morrissette directed families to the district’s interactive boundaries website (district279.org/boundaries) and said Chromebooks were available at the meeting for those who wanted to check specific addresses. He also reviewed frequently asked questions: families currently holding an in-district transfer or open-enrolled status may keep that status; additionally, the district will allow a temporary "hold harmless" option so current fifth-graders may remain in their elementary school for one final year and current eighth-graders may remain in their middle school for their final year. Morrissette cautioned that the district cannot guarantee transportation for students who choose hold harmless.
Heil said final attendance boundaries are expected to be announced in May and implemented in 2026, timed to the opening of a new elementary school in northwest Maple Grove; she added Crestview Elementary families will be moved earlier, in 2025, because that building is planned for repurposing. The district plans to review restricted in-district transfer and open-enrollment policies and will not reopen in-district transfer applications until January 2027 for the 2027–28 school year.
The session closed with an invitation for attendees to give feedback in small groups, by QR code or via an online form, and a reminder that the core team will include public input in final adjustments. "Your thoughts are very important to us," Heil said.
Next steps: the district will compile feedback from March engagement events, review those responses in April, present final boundary recommendations to the board in May, and communicate school-specific transportation plans during the regular back-to-school cycle in August 2026.
