Study recommends adjusting boundaries across Olympia School District  

The Olympia School District Board of Directors is looking at the possibility of boundary realignment to provide elementary students with more efficient travel routes and better utilization rates at the middle school level. 

The district partnered with BERK Consulting for the Olympia School District Attendance Area Boundary Study, which identifies potential revisions to current boundaries. 

Two scenarios have been recommended: assigning elementary students to schools closer to their homes to improve travel efficiency; and, transferring middle school territory and students to balance utilization rates, which measures how effectively a school’s facility accommodates students. 

BERK Associate Principal Kevin Gifford said the realignment would promote compact attendance areas and efficient travel, balance student enrollment to make efficient use of facilities, and avoid creating areas that would isolate Black, Indigenous and People of Color, low-income and special needs students, as well as students whose primary language is not English. 

Travel times

A map of boundary scenario 1 for the Olympia School District.

Courtesy of Olympia School District 

The first scenario considered elementary attendance area boundaries based on a drive time analysis, which prioritizes efficient student travel. 

“The boundaries would assign elementary students to the school closest to their home and maintain existing progression relationships between elementary, middle, and high schools,” the study states. 

Significant changes to current attendance areas are expected if the first scenario is realized. 

Attendance areas on the west side — L.P. Brown, Hansen and McLane elementary schools — would shrink, and Garfield Elementary School's attendance area would expand. 

On the east side, attendance areas for Boston Harbor and Lincoln elementary schools would shrink. Attendance areas for Roosevelt and Madison elementary schools would expand northward, while some of the southern territory would be transferred to neighboring schools.  

The study states only minor shifts in attendance areas are expected from Pioneer, McKenny and Centennial elementary schools. 

Utilization rates

A map of boundary scenario 2 for the Olympia School District.

Courtesy of Olympia School District

The second scenario focuses on balancing utilization rates across four middle schools for a more efficient enrollment distribution.  

Two middle schools in the district, Washington and Marshall, have utilization rates above 85 percent, and another two, Jefferson and Reeves, have utilization rates below 70 percent.

Territory and students from Washington and Marshall middle schools would be transferred to Reeves and Jefferson middle schools. 

The second scenario would transfer Lincoln Elementary School from Washington Middle School to Jefferson Middle School to realign elementary and middle school boundaries, aiming to balance utilization in middle schools. 

“Scenario 2 would also realign elementary boundaries to ensure elementary school attendance areas remain 'nested' within middle school attendance areas and to maintain balanced elementary enrollment to the extent possible,” the study states. 

The following are projected shifts in middle school attendance based on the study: 

• Garfield Elementary School would expand to include part of Hansen’s southern attendance area and a small portion of McLane Elementary’s southeastern attendance area, transferring territory and enrollment from Marshall Middle School to Jefferson Middle School. 

• Hansen Elementary School would absorb the southern extension of the L.P. Brown attendance area, creating a contiguous attendance area and shifting territory from Jefferson Middle School to Marshall Middle School. 

• Lincoln Elementary School's attendance area would be transferred from Washington Middle School to Jefferson Middle School to provide additional student enrollment at Jefferson. 

• Madison Elementary School would absorb a portion of Pioneer Elementary School's attendance area, transferring territory from Washington Middle School to Reeves Middle School. 

• To balance enrollment between elementary schools within the same middle school attendance area, McLane Elementary School would transfer a small amount of territory to Hansen Elementary School, and Garfield Elementary School would transfer a portion of its northern attendance area to L.P. Brown Elementary School. 

Recommendation 

The analysis also concludes that realigning attendance area boundaries would be significantly beneficial to the district for purposes of rebalancing student enrollment between schools. 

“Due to your declining overall enrollment, unfortunately, doing an overall boundary realignment is unlikely to have significant benefit for school utilization or operational and staffing efficiency,” Gifford said. 

Other potential strategies recommended in the study include a review of district policies regarding in-district transfer, grade reconfiguration and school consolidation. 

The school district superintendent is expected to present an official recommendation to the school board after the approval of the budget in June.