School districts periodically need to redraw boundaries in order to ensure they have enough facilities to accommodate projected enrollment. New subdivisions and apartment complexes are not constructed evenly throughout the district, and some school sites are more impacted than others. Attendance areas sometimes need to be changed in order to avoid overcrowded conditions at any one school and balance enrollment across the district.

In Orcutt's case, our district underwent periodic school boundary changes before a pattern of declining enrollment obviated the need to do this. Now that the district's student enrollment has increased and is projected to continue to grow, we need to plan and take action.

All boundary scenarios described here would take effect in the 2025-2026 school year.

The district may indeed add more classrooms at certain sites, but only when they are absolutely necessary. It can cost over $1 million each to build a new classroom. Additionally, the district has some school sites with empty classrooms that can be used to house students. The district wants to be a good custodian of taxpayer dollars by minimizing how many additional classrooms are needed.

Parents interested in having their children remain at their current school should complete and submit an intradistrict agreement request form. The open enrollment period for intradistrict transfer requests is from March 1 through April 15. Placements are made based on space availability at the requested school. The outcome will be communicated in the week prior to the start of the 2025-2026 school year on August 11, 2025.

Please know that the district will be sympathetic to children in an impacted neighborhood who are longstanding students at their current school (i.e., entering sixth grade in 2025-2026). The district will do all it can to avoid disruption in this situation.

Students new to the district will be expected to be enrolled in their school of residence. That said, all parents have the ability to submit an intradistrict agreement request to have their child attend a school of their choice.

Our Transportation Department develops new routes and bus stops for each school year. Bus routes will be redesigned to reflect boundary changes. Additionally, schools will send out to families information on safe routes to school for students who walk or ride a bicycle.

Our district has experience in supporting students affected by boundary changes. We expect to plan principal tours and welcoming activities for new students and families, and we will work with our schools and PTAs to invite new families to school events scheduled this spring. All of our schools are great places for students, and we want to ensure that the transition is positive for all involved.

As of now, we expect to have the following feeder pattern for our junior high schools:

• Lakeview Junior High School: Alice Shaw School, Joe Nightingale School, and a portion of Patterson Road School
• Orcutt Junior High School: A portion of Patterson Road School, Pine Grove School, and Ralph Dunlap School

Parents interested in having their children remain at their current school should complete and submit an intradistrict agreement request form. The open enrollment period for intradistrict transfer requests is from March 1 through April 15. Placements are made based on space availability at the requested school. The outcome will be communicated in the week prior to the start of the 2025-2026 school year on August 11, 2025.

The district is no longer accepting interdistrict enrollment agreements in which out-of-district residents attend Orcutt schools. Students already enrolled on an interdistrict enrollment agreement will be moved to a site where space is available. If space is not available, interdistrict agreements will not be renewed.

No, at this time, the district is not considering changing the grade-level configurations of its elementary, TK-8, and junior high schools.

Staff members will need to apply for an intradistrict agreement for their child to remain at their current school. The district will try to accommodate children of staff but cannot issue any guarantees.

We are making attendance boundary changes based on our latest enrollment projections. That said, we cannot predict future housing growth that occurs in our school district and thus cannot say no changes will be needed in the next few years. And please note that in years past, our district regularly made boundary adjustments to align with patterns of expected enrollment growth.

For students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), our Special Education department would be involved in evaluating options for your child to ensure any specialized services currently received would be continued in the event of a boundary change that moves the child to a new school.

Orcutt Academy High School indeed is growing. But because it is a charter school and a school of choice, the district has the ability to control how many students are enrolled there. The district will not allow enrollment at OAHS to exceed the capacity of its facilities.