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Beaverton School District
Beaverton School District

Beaverton Schools

Bonny Slope / Findley Q and A

On October 10, 2022, the Beaverton School District hosted a virtual community where approximately 70 people were in attendance. During the public testimony portion of the meeting, 22 community members provided testimony. A number of questions were posed during the testimony and the intent of this memorandum is to provide a response to those questions.

  • What is the typical number of students per classroom at Findley?

As of October 1, 2022, the average number of students per classroom is 26. The lowest number is 22 students in one classroom and the highest is 31 students in a classroom.

  • Will more teachers be assigned to Findley?

All teacher assignments are based on enrollment. As enrollment increases, more teachers are assigned to a school. Conversely, as enrollment declines, teachers will be re-assigned to a different school.

  • Will more classrooms be added for grades as needed at Findley?

The number of classrooms are set at Findley. There are 25 general education classrooms in the building and there are 8 portable classrooms. There is also one (1) wellness/resource room and one (1) community room.

  • What child care programs are offered at Findley?

After school care is currently offered by Common Ground Extended Care. The company's web address is:  https://www.commongroundcare.com/. This is a private vendor who leases space from the District. Their leased space includes the cafeteria, gymnasium, and outdoor play areas.

  • Why were the boundaries with Cedar Mill and/or Terra Linda elementary schools not considered?

All of the Bonny Slope ES attendance area was evaluated for potential boundary adjustment.

  • How will security be ensured at Findley with portable use?

The portables are located adjacent to the playground, behind the building and locked gates. There is no public access to the site during the school day since the gates are locked. Additionally, there are adults on the playground providing supervision for recess and physical education throughout the day with the exception of approximately 30 minutes at the start of the school day and approximately 30 minutes at the end of the school day.

  • Why is transportation an issue for consideration?

Student transportation plays an important part in school operations. Board Policy JC specifies four (4) factors for evaluating boundary adjustment proposals. Transportation is addressed under the Factor “Neighborhood proximity and accessibility”. Oregon law (ORS 327.043) mandates elementary school students living beyond 1-mile from a school are entitled to transportation. Incorporating the transportation department’s input into boundary changes is essential to ensure students can be transported timely and economically in various scenarios. BSD transports approximately 22,000 students each day using almost 300 buses and travels over 3 million miles annually in servicing students and families.

  • How will diversity be impacted at Bonny Slope?

Using October 1, 2022 enrollment date, the ethnic demographic of Bonny Slope and Findley would be as follows:

Proposed Adjustment (move Grid Codes 130, 1142 and 1151 to Findley)

Bonny Slope ES: Findley ES:        
White students increases from 49% to 51% White students increases from 30% to 32%
Asian students declines from 30% to 26% Asian students declines from 53% to 52%
Minimal shifts are seen in other ethnicity groups Minimal shifts are seen in other ethnicity groups


Counter Proposal (Move Grid Code 130 to Findley)

White students increases from 49% to 51% White students increases from 30% to 31%
Asian students declines from 30% to 27% Asian students declines from 53% to 52%
Minimal shifts are seen in other ethnicity groups Minimal shifts are seen in other ethnicity groups

 

Since the October 10th meeting, there have been a couple common questions being asked by the public which staff wish to address:

  • The classroom count at Bonny Slope is incorrect. The classroom count should be 25.

District data shows that there are 24 General Education classrooms at Bonny Slope with one (1) computer lab and one (1) resource room. The District's Education Specification states that a computer lab is a requirement for elementary schools. However, the Education Specification also states:

“Computer labs may eventually be adapted to become general classrooms or other areas, as mobile technologies make dedicated computer labs obsolete.”

The computer lab at Bonny Slope has become functionally obsolete and has been converted to a General Education classroom. As a result, Bonny Slope has 25 General Education classrooms and a commensurate building capacity of 625 students.

  • Why not move the Pre-K out of Bonny Slope?

The resource room is currently being used by the Pre-K program at Bonny Slope. The purpose of a resource room is to support the social and emotional welfare of students. In this case, if the resource room were to become available due to the Pre-K program being moved to another District school, the space will be returned to a resource room. This would not increase the capacity of Bonny Slope.

Any action concerning the Pre-K program at Bonny Slope is a programming decision of the District’s Teaching and Learning Department and is separate from this attendance boundary adjustment process.

  • What are the next steps and when will the decision be made?

Public comment will continue to be accepted until October 14th. Once the public comment period is closed, the entire record will be compiled and shared with Superintendent Dr. Balderas. It is anticipated that the Superintendent will publish his decision in November after which there will be a 10-calendar day public comment period on the published decision. It is also anticipated that Dr. Balderas’ decision will be presented to the Board at its December meeting with a final Board action being taken in January, 2023. The final decision will include the boundary adjustment and the legacy program for eligible Bonny Slope students.