District 196 proposes wide elementary boundary changes, new Rosemount school to ease overcrowding

District 196 staff presented preliminary maps and numbers on Sept. 23 proposing broad elementary attendance-area adjustments tied to a new elementary school in Rosemount and a second set of boundary changes in the district’s southern area.

At a board meeting presentation, district staff said the new school — located at Akron Avenue and Bon Air Path in Rosemount — would be assigned an attendance area intended to alleviate overcrowding at nearby Rosemount Elementary. The district reported the number of students living within the Rosemount Elementary attendance area would fall from about 913 to about 493 under the proposal; Red Pine’s living-in-attendance-area count was reported at about 636 and the new school’s area at roughly 635 residents. The administration said the plan is intended to protect neighborhood schools while creating room for growth in developing areas.

Why it matters: district staff said this is the first comprehensive elementary attendance-area review since 1995 and that the adjustments aim to restore more balanced enrollments and consistent instructional opportunities across elementary schools. The district said its target range is 600 to 800 students per building.

Zone 2: southern-area balancing Staff described a second set of adjustments for the southern portion of the district intended to reduce inequities created by uneven population growth. Under the preliminary plan presented, the number of students living in Diamond Path’s attendance area would increase from about 384 to 578, Eastlake would drop from about 913 to about 710, Highland would be about 662, and Shannon Park about 489. The plan would move Diamond Path away from the magnet transportation model for some out-of-area students while retaining its international studies instructional theme; the district said neighborhood capacity would increase while maintaining opportunities for intra-district transfer based on program fit.

Board members asked about transportation savings and early childhood space. On early childhood, staff said rebalancing would free two classrooms designed for early childhood in at least one building currently used for K–5 instruction, allowing the district to place early learners closer to home. On transportation, a board member asked for a dollar estimate of savings tied to reduced magnet busing; staff noted that magnet transportation costs fluctuate year to year and that the numerical figure in the meeting transcript appears garbled and was not clarified during the meeting. That dollar amount therefore is not reported here as a verified figure.

Public input and next steps The district outlined an outreach plan including districtwide emails and a live interactive website where families can enter an address to see potential impacts, a feedback form, and multiple family information sessions in October. Staff said they will gather input, consider adjustments, and bring a final recommendation to the board for a decision in mid-November.

What’s next: family sessions in October and a planned final board action on the adjusted attendance areas in mid-November.