The Konocti School Board is considering a revision to the district”s elementary school boundaries. Recommendations are due before the board at its Wednesday, May 2, meeting. Chief among the components that these recommendations will entail is an absorption of “Pomo Island” into one or more neighboring school boundaries.
There are four elementary schools in the Konocti district East Lake, Pomo, Burns Valley and Lower Lake. Each school”s attendance boundaries generally consist of the neighborhoods that surround it.
An exception is “Pomo Island,” which is located southwest from and is separated by Burns Valley and Lower Lake boundaries from the rest of the Pomo jurisdiction.
A public hearing took place at the school board”s Wednesday, April 18, meeting, to address elementary school boundaries. Ken Reynolds, a principal partner with SchoolWorks, Inc., presented the results of a boundary study.
The study presented two options for the absorption of Pomo Island. One option showed Pomo Island being divided down the middle between Burns Valley and Lower Lake, using Molesworth Creek as the divider. The second option was for Pomo Island to be completely absorbed into Burns Valley. The 36th Avenue division between Pomo and Lower Lake boundaries would be moved to either 30th or 32nd Avenue.
Both options projected a spike in Burns Valley Elementary School enrollment that would bring its population above capacity by 10 students in 2007-2008. Its population would subside, however, and by 2008-2009 it would be again below capacity but by only a very small margin.
Reynolds projected that all schools would see a decrease in their populations due to declining enrollment.
Burns Valley Principal Troy Sherman expressed concern with the proposals, saying that while it “made every sense in the world” for Burns Valley to absorb Pomo Island, “the only bug-a-boo is that Burns Valley is a small, small school.” Sherman said that a jump in enrollment would make him nervous.
“We did fill your school up,” Reynolds agreed.
Pomo Elementary School Principal April Leiferman suggested that Pomo expand its borders to absorb as much of the Burns Valley territory that would allow Burns Valley to maintain enrollment at a more comfortable level.
School board member Hank Montgomery additionally said that he would like to see projections for moving neighborhoods past the Lakeshore Drive “Gooseneck” from Pomo into the East Lake boundary.
