Overpopulated middle and high schools reaching 120 percent capacity in the next couple of years will face double sessions. The Washoe County School District Board unanimously approved the decision to establish "conversion thresholds" on Tuesday.
The board says this is wasn't an easy decision, but a necessary one because the overcrowding issue in our schools is a crisis the community unfortunately has to adjust to.
Kristen McNeill, WCSD Deputy Superintendent said, "Double session is pretty much the last of the not so good choices that we would ever want to do for a middle or a high school."
WCSD Board Trustee Lisa Ruggerio added, "The thought of our children being picked up at 4 a.m. in the morning to get them to school, I can't even comprehend that. I am so terribly, terribly concerned for the well-being of our community's children."
While it's a tough decision, the school district says the thresholds would automatically convert middle or high schools to double sessions if enrollment the following three years is projected to be at or over 120 percent capacity.
Back in December, administrators approved multi-track year round calendars for six elementary schools starting next year.
A school-building measure up for a vote on the November ballot is a major factor in what happens to the school district's overcrowding problem. The superintendent says additional funding is crucial.
WCSD Superintendent Traci Davis said, "Things will no longer stay the same. If we get funding, things will get better. We'll be able to build schools, we won't necessarily have to have schools on multi-track or double session."
The district will conduct enrollment counts on August 19 and update projections to determine which enrollments will reach the thresholds and when. No schools are currently projected for double sessions in the next school year.
From the Washoe County School District:
At its public meeting on April 26, the Washoe County School District (WCSD) Board of Trustees voted unanimously to establish “conversion thresholds” that will determine when schools would be automatically changed to Double Sessions during the following school year due to critical overcrowding challenges.
Under these thresholds, a middle- or high school will be automatically converted to Double Sessions if its enrollment the following three years is projected to be at or above 120% of enrollment capacity (without counting portable units).
The District will conduct an enrollment count on Friday, August 19, and update enrollment projections to determine which school enrollments are projected to reach these thresholds, and when. No schools are currently projected to reach the Double Sessions conversion threshold for the 2017-18 school year.
WCSD last used Double Sessions more than 30 years ago, while Reed High School was being constructed, and exact plans for starting/ending times and how students will be divided into two sessions is still to be determined. In other school districts in the state, which have had more recent experience with Double Sessions, the first session for high schools began at 5:55 a.m. and ended at 11:55 a.m., while the second session began at noon and ended at 6 p.m.
“It’s really unfortunate that we have reached this point, but the overcrowding situation in many of our schools is untenable,” said Board President Dr. Angie Taylor. “Our schools are quickly reaching a breaking point where overcrowding is affecting safety and the ability of our students to receive the world-class education they deserve, and that we are committed to providing them. As Trustees, we have to work with staff to lay a groundwork for how we will cope with this challenge in the next few years, including establishing this line in the sand for when overcrowding has reached a critical state and changes must be made.”
Elementary schools that are projected to reach this 120% level for three years will automatically go to multi-track year round schedules, where four groups—or “tracks”— of students and staff would alternate attendance throughout the year, which can relieve overcrowding by as much as 25%.
“Double Sessions are a last resort for our District,” said WCSD Superintendent Traci Davis. “If we go to Double Sessions, our children will be waiting at bus stops before dawn, or returning home from school long after dark. We do not yet know what the impact on sports, extracurricular activities, and the broader community will be. We will be working with Trustees and staff to constantly evaluate the overcrowding situation at our schools, but at some point, Double Sessions will be our only option unless we are able to build new schools to accommodate the growth we expect in the District.”
As a result of the Trustees’ decision to establish these conversion thresholds:
• Four middle schools and four high schools will likely convert to Double Sessions sometime in the next five years. While no schools are projected to go to Double Sessions in the 2017-18 school year, this will depend upon actual enrollment numbers reported when school starts this fall.
• At least four elementary schools will automatically go to multi-track year round schedules in August, 2017.
• Another 18 overcrowded elementary schools will be required to write a plan for how they will deal with crowding in the coming years, which could include adopting the multi-track year round schedule before reaching the conversion threshold.
From the Washoe County School District
