Consultants propose "flex" kindergarten zones as Scotia-Glenville plans for Glen Warden closure

Scotia-Glenville school leaders heard detailed rezoning scenarios from Transfinder on how to redistribute students after the Glen Warden school closure, including optional "flex" zones that would shift only kindergarten and new-to-district pupils year to year to balance class sizes.

"This is still a work in progress," Michael Brasfield, vice president of operations for Transfinder, told the board during a lengthy presentation. He described two main goals guiding the work: keep students in the same neighborhood buses where possible, and balance section sizes at each school.

Brasfield showed maps and enrollment projections for the 2026–27 zones for first through fifth graders that the district has already communicated to families. He said the central difficulty is forecasting incoming kindergartners because they are new to the district and pre-registration fluctuates: "You're not going to know from one year to the next," he said.

Using the Sacandaga kindergarten line as an example, Brasfield said Sacandaga currently projects about 42 kindergarten students but has capacity for three sections (roughly 60 seats). Adding the purple flex zone would raise that number from 42 to 43; adding the blue flex zone (where more siblings would not be eligible to move) could raise it to 46; combining selected flex zones could reach about 47 — still short of the 60-seat capacity. Brasfield stressed that flex zones are optional and can be phased or left unused if enrollment meets targets.

Superintendent Susan Schwartz said staff hope to provide information for incoming kindergarten families by the end of the month; she told the board the district currently has "right around 145 pre-registrations," with about 80% of families having completed registration packets. School officials cautioned that pre-registrations often change before September.

Board members asked about implementation and how many flex zones would be needed. Brasfield said the number varies by district and project goals: "The fewer the better," he said, but added that having options prevents scrambling later if kindergarten targets are not met.

Next steps include the board and district leaders reviewing the scenarios, compiling follow-up questions for Transfinder and communicating finalized plans to families once enrollment and sibling constraints are confirmed. Brasfield invited written follow-ups and offered to provide more detailed data to district staff.

The presentation ran through maps, projected section counts and a range of flexible-zone options; no final decisions were made at the meeting.