Re-Districting Concerns | Video

Kristin Clouston | 1/14/2013

Nearly 500 Bismarck parents crammed into the cafetorium at Wachter Middle School to share their concerns and suggestions at the first of the district`s two school boundary forums. On Monday night, school board members shared some of the public`s main points with the demographer.

According to the district website every comment and form from Thursday`s boundary forum were read, recorded and sorted. Board members and administrators say they`ve also gotten several emails from parents and appreciate the public getting involved.

They said a major concern is not wanting to drive past one or two schools to get to another. Most in the Promontory Point housing development say they want their children to attend a school closer to home and say they would outgrow Highland Acres by 2014.

Others want to make the two new elementary schools even larger and add on to Sunrise this year.

Vice President Matt Sagsveen said, "We`ll need some more definitive direction before the committee can take that issue and run with it. At this point, I just don`t think there`s enough material or information for us to run with it, or me personally to make that certain decision on what my thought process would be."

Board members told the demographer they want to see how much it would cost.

Parents and neighbors worried about re-purposing Riverside into a small high school and suggested maybe moving South Central students to Moses or renting a space for them.

Parents from many schools had safety concerns about their kids walking to school and want to know if they can get them into before and after school programs.

You can find a list of all major themes brought up at the forum on the district`s website.

The next boundary forum will be Thursday, January 24, in the Horizon cafetorium from 6:30 until 8:00.

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