Summary of School Board Action

The Central Valley School District Board of Directors has taken action to address student housing needs for Fall 2006. Detail of these changes is listed below.

Approved Changes for Fall 2006 (in place by September 7, 2006):

1. Create a Kindergarten Center at Barker Center -- to house all kindergarten students and their teachers from Liberty Lake and Greenacres Elementary schools. This move is intended to be temporary until a bond is passed and a new elementary school opens in the eastern part of the district.

2. Move all Barker Center programs which support students age 14+ to the Summit School building, including:

• Barker High School - a fully-accredited alternative high school program for students in grades 9-12
• Teen Parent Infant Toddler Program -- serves only children of Barker students
• School to Life Program - for students ages 18-21 with special needs
• Barker Special Programs  - special services alternative program fo high school students in grades 9-12

3. Move Summit School to Keystone Center. This choice school for grades K-8 has no enrollment boundaries. Summit is an Expeditionary Learning School offering learning experiences in a non-traditional setting. The school will retain the “Summit” name.

4. Move Keystone Programs to University Center, except Spokane Valley Learning Academy (SVLA). Programs currently housed at Keystone Center include:

• Spokane Valley Learning Academy (SVLA) - a parent partnership program for homeschooling families of students in grades K-12
• Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) - a grant-funded preschool program for 4-year-old children
• Child care - various programs for working families with young children and children attending Central Valley schools
• Spokane Community College (SCC) Adult Education Program - English as a Second Language (ESL) and GED program funded by SCC, serving adults from throughout our community
• Even Start -- a grant-funded family literacy program for low-income families offered in collaboration with ECEAP and SCC Adult Education 
• Native American Program Office -- federal tutoring and cultural education program serving students in Central Valley, East Valley, Freeman and West Valley schools.
  

5. Retain ECEAP and Child Care programs currently housed in Barker Center. One classroom will be allocated to child care and ECEAP in the new Kindergarten Center. The Board wants to continue serving families from Greenacres and Progress Elementary schools with these important services.

6. Address crowding at University Elementary. This school is struggling to house the students and supporting staff. All University Elementary kindergarten students and teachers will move to Ponderosa Elementary for Fall 2006/07.

7. Address crowding at Greenacres Middle School. Use the current overflow process to address crowding at Greenacres Middle School for the 2006/07 school year. Students may be overflowed to Evergreen or North Pines middle schools.

Additional student housing issues discussed by the School Board:

• High Schools -- The Board reviewed Central Valley High School and University High School enrollment projections for 2006/07. These projections show that both schools will continue below the 1,800 capacity figure for next school year. 

• Schools with extra space -- include Horizon Middle School, Ponderosa Elementary and Chester Elementary. University Center (the old University High School) is also an option for student housing, but only for preschool and adult education programs.

• University Center (the old University High School) - there is space in this building to house preschool and adult education programs. However, the state has said Central Valley is not allowed to serve basic K-12 students at University Center. The only exception is if students are displaced because their home school is being remodeled or in case of emergency. Central Valley currently leases a portion of the building to Valley Christian private school with an expiration date of July 2007. Currently, Central Valley is using University Center as follows:

• Preschool programs -- students are housed in the entire 500 wing and one classroom in the 200 wing. Preschool programs include Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and special services preschool -- Project AIM, therapy-only students, self-contained preschool and Coclear preschool
• Transportation - more than 30 school buses are based at University Center to more efficiently serve students attending schools on the west side of the district.
• Community use of gymnasium and playfields -- available on evenings and weekends