Guiding Principles
The following set of Guiding Principles are used to assist in the decision-making process regarding facility usage and capacities. The original set of Guiding Principles was developed in 2001 during previous LRFP and Strategic Planning processes. The Guiding Principles were again reviewed in November 2016 at a public Forum; educators, parents, and community members reviewed the Guiding Principles and recommended no changes.
The Guiding Principles are reviewed each year as part of the annual review process. In fall 2019, the Board reviewed secondary school feeder patterns and school sizes based on facility capacities. The preference for middle and high school sizes were adjusted based on the Board’s consensus to work toward consistent feeder patterns at secondary schools. After considering research on class size and financial impacts, consensus was reached to modify the preference for average class size and add a range at a Board work session in March 2021.
Guiding Principles for Facility Decisions
1. Provide education for all students and suitable space, resources, staffing, and educational opportunities in all District schools.
2. The number of students per class is an important criterion when planning for school facilities. The preference for average class size is:
Grade Level |
Classroom Enrollment |
|
---|---|---|
Kindergarten-1st |
Target 21 |
Range: 16-24 |
2nd-3rd |
Target 22 |
Range: 17-26 |
4th-5th |
Target 25 |
Range: 18-27 |
Secondary Core Classes |
Target 27 |
Range: 16-29 |
3. The preference for elementary school size is 4 sections per grade level, with at least 2 sections per grade. Middle school (grades 6-8) 850-1000, and in high school (grades 9-12) 1,100-1,350.
4. A single grade configuration is preferred with grades K-5 at elementary schools, grades 6-8 at middle schools and grades 9-12 at the high schools.
5. The preference is to minimize as much as possible the travel and distance to and from school for all students in each attendance boundary area.
6. Consider the need for space to accommodate all ancillary programs.
7. The preference is to have a middle school to high school attendance boundary feeder system.
Guidelines for Setting School Attendance Boundaries
1. Provide quality education for all students.
- Provide equitable (not necessarily equal) space, resources, staffing, and educational opportunities in all District schools
- Strive for an equitable (not necessarily equal) number of students per classroom per school while respecting the unique characteristics of students and buildings
- Strive to balance socioeconomic mix when setting secondary attendance areas
2. Set attendance areas to make the best use of tax dollars.
3. Consider transportation costs when adjusting boundary lines.
4. Set attendance areas to anticipate changes and accommodate growth in Fargo’s population.
- Work with area planners to consider stability in school assignment and anticipate future enrollment patterns
- Recognize that changing school attendance areas is a necessary and continual process
5. Use natural boundaries and major thoroughfares to set school attendance areas whenever possible.
6. Promote attendance of neighborhoods in a school, especially at the elementary level.
- Consider safe routes when setting attendance areas
Responding to Enrollment Growth Areas
If demographic projections, from a variety of sources, indicate areas with increasing enrollment with little or no reasonable expectation of reversal, the District will consider the strategies below to address the issue:
1. District administration will modify the attendance areas.
2. Students in the growth area may be temporarily assigned to other buildings in the District that have space available. Portable (temporary) classrooms, using space in other buildings, boundary changes, differentiated staffing, larger class size, use of petition process, and combination classrooms will all be part of the discussions.
3. After reviewing development plans and based on enrollment projections, a new school should be planned to open when 50% of the building capacity is reached. Attendance areas will be changed accordingly. (The 50% criteria is a general guideline and may be changed to better reflect the anticipated rate of growth.)
4. The Board needs to balance the capacity philosophies of neighborhood schools in new neighborhoods with the use of existing facilities.
Responding to Enrollment Decline
The District is committed to providing quality educational experiences for children in all geographic areas of the community, recognizing the need for economic efficiency. One effort to preserve that quality is an annual analysis of demographic changes that may impact facility needs. Should this analysis indicate the possible need to decommission or repurpose a building, the city and impacted neighborhoods will be engaged in the decision-making process. The final decision rests with the Board of Education.
The decision-making process will include any or all the following consideration warrant:
- Believing that schools and neighborhoods are interdependent, the District will provide non-monetary support to the city and neighborhood associations in the development of neighborhood revitalizations initiatives.
- The Board will consider reasonable economic cost, and balance educational needs with the need for economic efficiency.
- District administration may modify attendance areas as appropriate.
- The Board of Education may pair buildings to form a combined attendance area with each building serving as a campus for a range of grade levels from the combined neighborhoods. (This may include replacements of building(s).)
- The Board of Education may consider making underutilized space available to neighborhood-friendly tenants.
If circumstances prevail so that the above strategies have not proven sufficiently effective, building decommissioning will occur when a majority of the Board believes doing so is on the District’s best interest.