ML middle school redistrict meetings announced

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake School District patrons who want to participate in redistricting the three middle schools are being invited to a series of three meetings, beginning in late January.

Meetings are scheduled for Jan. 28, Feb. 25 and March 17, district superintendent Michelle Price said. They will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the choir room at Moses Lake High School, 803 East Sharon Ave.

The redistricting is required because Moses Lake will open a new middle school for the 2014-15 school year, the converted Columbia Basin Secondary School.

People who attend the Jan. 28 meeting will be asked three questions, Price said, and the answers to those questions will affect how the redistricting proceeds.

Participants will be divided into small groups and discuss the questions, and the factors going into redistricting. The most important criteria are geographic proximity to the schools, instructional capacity of the buildings and projected enrollment.

"In terms of factors such as natural geographic barriers, what neighborhoods should remain together, and why?" is the first question, and the second is "what traffic concerns do you have that may impact the safe and timely transportation of students to and from school?" The third question is "are there residential development trends in your area that may impact future school enrollment?"

Factors considered will include neighborhood groupings, traffic patterns, frequency of past rezoning, special programs and alignment between the middle schools and elementary schools. The second meeting will evaluate the information gathered in the small group meetings, and review and evaluate the alternatives, Price said.

The March 17 meeting will present proposed redistricting boundaries based on those conclusions, Price said. The boundary proposals that come from that meeting will be presented to the Moses Lake School Board for approval in late March or April.

The new middle school will have a new name; suggestions can be submitted at the district office, 920 West Ivy St., through Jan. 30. The suggestions will be turned over to a review committee selected this week. The top three choices will be submitted to the school board, who will make the final decision. Price said the decision could come as early as the Feb. 13 board meeting.