The Blue Valley School District is considering moving school boundaries to address overcrowding at Valley Park and Overland Trail elementary schools.
The Blue Valley Board of Education on Monday evening will review recommendations by a district committee to consider new boundaries for Valley Park Elementary in Leawood and Overland Trail Elementary in Overland Park. The change would move roughly 200 students to four other nearby elementary schools.
Deputy Superintendent Kyle Hayden presented potential boundary changes for the schools at last month’s Blue Valley Board of Education meeting, under the recommendation of the district’s Facility Planning Committee.
Student enrollment is pushing past 600 students in the near future
- District officials have predicted that enrollment at both Overland Trail and Valley Park will surpass 600 students in the coming years — a number that officials said makes it harder for students to share space and resources.
- The district already took measures to address the growing number of students at these schools, including closing off the schools to transfers and creating temporary mobile classrooms.
- Enrollment for the 2022-23 year is 586 at Overland Trail Elementary, and 647 at Valley Park Elementary. The student-teacher ratio at Valley Park is 18 to 1, while the ratio at Overland Trail is 19 to 1, according to ranking website Niche. Student-teacher ratio data was not included in the committee’s recommendation.
Which neighborhoods would leave Overland Trail Elementary?
- Under the most recent boundary recommendations, families living in the Savoy and Sandstone Creek neighborhoods off 143rd and Metcalf would be moved from Overland Trail to Harmony Elementary.
- Residents in the Villas of Chapel Green, Glen Abbey, High Villas and Highlands Creek neighborhoods off 143rd and Nall would move from Overland Trail Elementary to Prairie Star Elementary.
- Residents living in the Plaza Gardens neighborhood off 139th and U.S. 69 Highway would also move from Overland Trail Elementary to Harmony Elementary.
Which neighborhoods would leave Valley Park Elementary?
- Students living in the Autumn Park, Villages of Overland View and Executive Hills neighborhoods would move from Valley Park Elementary to Indian Valley Elementary.
- Students living in the Deer Creek neighborhood off College Boulevard and Antioch Road would leave Valley Park for Overland Trail.
- Students living in the Villas of Carrington Square Area off 135th Street and Antioch Road would also move from Harmony Elementary to Heartland Elementary.
The new boundaries would go into effect in the 2024-25 year
- District officials say they have been reviewing enrollment data from the overcrowded schools and visited with building-level administrative staff over the past few weeks, according to district documents.
- The 2024-25 school year would be the first year with the new boundaries in effect, if the school board approves the changes.
- The district is hosting open house forums at 5:30 p.m. on May 16 at Harmony Elementary, at 7 p.m. on May 16 at Valley Park Elementary, and at 5:30 p.m. on May 18 at Overland Trail Elementary to gather community feedback.
Go deeper: Blue Valley considers new enrollment boundaries for 2 overcrowded schools
