District lays out roadmap to overhaul student assignment and school portfolio; board asks for more data and time

District staff presented a systems approach that pairs portfolio decisions (where programs will be located and how many classrooms are needed) with a single student‑assignment policy. Staff framed four priorities — diversity, predictability, proximity and choice — and outlined three practical options: (1) choice with tie‑breakers, (2) zone‑based choice and (3) neighborhood assignment with choice on top. Each option carries tradeoffs in how much it advances each priority, staff said.

Staff urged the board to confirm high-level priorities and the process for community engagement so staff can return in fall with options and tradeoffs that include maps, capacity analysis and program placements. Several commissioners said the board needs targeted study sessions and an ad hoc committee that can meet and review detailed demography, maps, and feasibility before voting: "We have to address resourcing in under‑enrolled schools before locking families into zones," Commissioner Fisher said. Staff proposed a staged timeline that would allow policy direction by October and final action by April 2027 to support an October 2027 enrollment launch for a phased implementation through 2028.

Commissioners asked staff to provide clearer maps, a public roadmap for engagement, and an explicit description of how mergers or other portfolio moves would be sequenced and resourced so that neighborhoods are not forced into lower‑resourced assignments.