Davenport School Districts' Boundary Lines Changes Break Down - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Davenport School Districts' Boundary Lines Changes Break Down

By: Christine Souders

csouders@cbs4qc.com

"If you want your child to go to Central, move to Central boundary," said a Parent at the Thursday Night Public Hearing, who is in favor of the proposed boundary line changes.

"Everyone doesn't have the option to build a house on the Bettendorf Border or the North District,"said another parent who opposes boundary line changes.   

Tensions and tempers rise as parents speak out about changing the Davenport School District's boundary lines.

As Davenport schools consider changes to save money and ease overcrowding, there's been a lot of questions.

We want to help you figure out how your kids would be impacted if the boundaries change.

Here's some answers to some of the big questions.

First thing to know, kids already at a school, would not have to move.

The changes would be for new students only.

But with some schools 100 percent full, and others not full enough, school leaders are trying to see if changing boundary lines is the answer.

They're considering a "Neighborhood School Concept," something parent Ryan Riewerts said is a good idea, "It's for the best education possible so all the kids have the opportunities to be successful in the classrooms that aren't so overcrowded that they can't get the attention they need from their teachers."

District leaders said there are three elementary schools where it's tough to find a desk for new kids who move into the neighborhood.

Harrison Elementary is one of them.

New families who move into the neighborhood being cut out from the old map, would then attend Adams Elementary from now on.  

"Lot of our kids are growing up together, and some of them are going to be changing. I would just rather not see that if I didn't have to," said Sarah Glover, a Harrison Elementary Parent.

The next phase is what school leaders call a 'Feeder System,' and wouldn't go into effect until the 2014 school year.

This means the elementary school your kids are in, will determine what intermediate school they will attend in the future.

"I think in the long run, it's what's best for the kids here in our district," said Riewerts.

Now for the high schools, district leaders are getting feedback about whether or not to continue open enrollment or create a feeter system all the way to the high school level.

They hope to announce a decision by March.

And Davenport school leaders said redrawing the map could have a lasting effect on their budget.

"We're doing a lot of grand fathering in to make this a very slow change. Eventually if people are going to the closet school then that will eliminate some of our bus routes, and some of our transportation, but that will be a long time coming. So this is not going to affect our current budget right away," said Davenport Superintendent Arthur Tate.

The district is also looking at other options to help slash more than $3 million dollars from the budget.

Additional moves could include outsourcing the jobs, of their custodians and nurses.

There are more public hearings on this issue next week.