Board adopts new boundaries for Aloha and Huarez consolidations; grants impacted families priority in school‑of‑choice

The ABC Unified School District Board on Nov. 4 approved revised attendance boundaries to implement phase‑one consolidations (Aloha and Huarez elementary areas) and adopted a school‑of‑choice priority intended to reduce disruption for families affected by the consolidations.

MGT consultant Esau Hoya presented the phase‑one map after mapping resident student addresses and applying compactness and safety criteria (avoiding freeway crossings). The proposal redistributes Aloha residents primarily to Willow, Palms and Melbourne and distributes Huarez residents to Burbank, Kennedy, Neimus and Whitman to balance resident TK‑6 counts.

Board members debated a set of small, localized edits to tidy boundaries and improve enrollment balance. A board amendment to move a small residential sliver to Carver Elementary and to shift adjacent pockets (intended to boost neighborhood resident counts for Elliot and Carver) passed on roll call (yes: McCaten, Dr. Rios, Mrs. U, Yokoyama Buoui, Nyola, Nishi; no: Mendoza). The board then approved the full phase‑one boundary plan by roll call, final tally 6–1 (Mrs. Mendoza recorded the opposing vote).

"We used resident student data and GIS mapping to keep attendance areas compact and to avoid students crossing major freeways," consultant Esau Hoya said during his presentation.

The board also debated and approved a school‑of‑choice priority for families impacted by consolidation. Trustees amended the staff recommendation to guarantee impacted families priority for their first or second choice in the district's school‑of‑choice process; that amendment passed on roll call 5–2 (yes: McCaten, Mendoza, Dr. Rios, Nyola, Nishi; no: Mrs. Yu, Mrs. Yokoyama Buoui). District staff clarified that a school‑of‑choice priority is not an absolute guarantee of placement at any particular site but pledged to run an accelerated choice process, provide clear multi‑lingual outreach and explore additional classroom and staffing options if demand exceeds capacity.

Transportation, sibling continuity and communications were the main concerns raised by trustees and community members. Vice President Nyola and other trustees asked staff to identify which resident families would qualify for bus service under the district's one‑mile policy and to consider additional temporary supports during the transition year. District staff said they will calculate preliminary transportation eligibility and work with schools to identify safe pick‑up locations. "We will do everything we can to accommodate families and to keep the transition least disruptive," the superintendent's office said in response.

Votes and motions recorded in the meeting packet and on the record: - Phase‑one boundary adoption (Aloha + Huarez): motion carried by roll call vote 6–1. - Amendment to boundaries (localized map edits): passed by roll call 6–1. - School‑of‑choice priority amendment (priority for impacted families'first or second choice): passed by roll call 5–2.

What's next: staff will send official notices to impacted families identifying new home schools, run the school‑of‑choice timeline beginning Dec. 1 with priority status for impacted families, publish transportation eligibility for affected addresses, and run school tours and family outreach in English and Spanish.

The board approved the consolidated boundaries and the priority policy as part of the meeting's action items.