As the Olentangy Local School District (OLSD) prepares to add its 17th elementary school for the 2024-25 school year, another round of redistricting is needed as the district aims to balance its ever-growing student population. During Thursday’s meeting of the Olentangy Schools Board of Education, an update was provided on how that process will play out over the coming months.
Chief Communications Officer Krista Davis said that by the end of October, the Redistricting Committee will be ready to present its redistricting options to the community, with two opportunities for the community to weigh in on the plans in person. The sessions will also be made available online. A digital survey will be open beginning on Oct. 31 and will run through Nov. 12 to allow the community to provide feedback on the options.
From there, the committee will review the feedback and continue to analyze the recommendations before making the final recommendation to Superintendent Todd Meyer. In Ohio, the superintendent is charged with making the ultimate redistricting decisions, and Davis said Meyer will make that decision on Dec. 7.
Asked if the redistricting discussions will involve schools other than the elementary schools, Chief of Administrative Services Randy Wright said no high school boundaries will be changed but noted there may be some continued discussions on the middle school boundaries as the enrollment projections are updated.
During his presentation on the needs of the new elementary building and the subsequent redistricting, Wright said that based on the enrollment numbers for this school year, all but four of the district elementary schools are currently at or above the district’s targeted utilization.
“We do have a lot to address, not only with an eye on taking care of elementary 17, but we have to be mindful of what may come down the road,” he said. “And we need to be careful that as we do redistrict — and we’re in a very, very high growth timeframe — we may end up possibly doing a little less than we typically would because of not wanting to undo something. The cardinal sin of redistricting would be to impact any family twice at a level. And because we’re working with elementary schools, that timeframe is six years a family could be impacted twice.”
Wright went on to say one of the goals of the redistricting process will be to make adjustments at the district’s most over-utilized schools that also are unlikely to be impacted by future redistricting processes when they are inevitably necessary. “We don’t want to create boundaries that we would have to undo or, after moving a family, have to move them again,” he said.
Over the coming months, as the redistricting options are developed, the board will also be tasked with selecting a name for the new elementary school as well as the mascot and colors. A survey will also be available for the community to weigh in on those elements. The board’s decisions will be announced along with the new district boundaries in December.
Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.
