WJCC superintendent outlines multi‑year redistricting plan; community urged to comment by June 7

Dr. Kever, the division superintendent, told the school board the district is beginning a multi‑year redistricting process tied to the opening of two Bright Beginnings kindergarten centers and the need to rebalance capacity across elementary, middle and high schools. He said the steering committee and consultant MGT released draft boundary maps to collect community feedback and that the proposals "are not the final recommendations." The survey remains open through June 7, he said, and staff anticipate a second draft in August with further community engagement in September and potential adoption in late 2027.

Dr. Kever said the process is guided by six principles adopted in June 2025—maximizing facility utilization, attention to demographics, preserving neighborhood schools, transportation efficiencies, minimizing student impact, and feeder‑pattern cohesion—and that tradeoffs are unavoidable as the division plans for a 10‑year horizon. He noted the district has published current enrollment, capacity and projected demographic data tied to the draft map and asked residents to submit the online survey so the steering committee can factor public feedback into refinements.

During the public‑comment period multiple residents raised neighborhood and transportation concerns. Rebecca Mulane, who identified herself as a resident of the Point at Jamestown, said the community of about 186 homes currently has walking and biking access to Clara Bird Baker and Berkeley Middle and is slated in the draft to be redistricted to schools farther away; she asked the board to “reconsider reabsorbing us back into the Clar Baker model.” Alra Lapatina, speaking as a working parent and PTA vice president, urged the board not to split Ports Colony at the elementary level, saying the change would remove safe walking and biking access for young children and fracture daily support systems families rely on.

Other commenters urged the board to weigh safe walking and biking corridors explicitly when drawing lines and to make socioeconomic and demographic data easier to access on the redistricting web page. Superintendent Kever reiterated staff will consider community feedback and incorporate it into revised drafts, and that additional draft maps and opportunities to engage would be provided later this summer and into the fall.

Next steps: the district is accepting comments through the online survey (deadline shared by staff) and expects to publish additional draft maps and hold further public engagement before recommending boundary changes to the school board.