HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The USD 308 School Board approved a proposal that will give Avenue A Elementary School a new mission in 2018-19.
Under the proposal, the repurposed Avenue A will have from four to six pre-kindergarten classes; offices and a family room for Parents as Teachers; an elementary level alternative school; and offices for the United Way’s Southwest Bricktown offices.
The district retains ownership of the facility. Hutchinson Public Schools has operated a school at Avenue A and Madison since 1889. The current building was constructed in 1939 and updated in 2008.
The proposal also calls on district staff to consider other options for future use of the facility including dual-language studies, other community-based services and expanded after-school opportunities.
Current staff at the school will have the opportunity to transfer to other district facilities. Savings from the changes are expected to total about $300,000 annually.
The change in Avenue A’s usage was prompted by a continuing decline in enrollment from students who live in the southwest corner of the district. A census of Avenue A students in early January showed that 45 of its 111 students (41 percent) lived within the school’s geographic boundaries while the remaining 66 lived in other school attendance areas or school districts.
Since the recent high-water mark for district enrollment in 2013-14, the district is down 395 elementary students. Because the district had projections of smaller class sizes, the district reduced elementary school capacity by eliminating a track of students at McCandless. That reduced elementary capacity by 175 student in 2016-17.
The staff is currently working on a new elementary attendance boundary map for the district. New guidelines for student transfer will give priority for students from Avenue A who are being forced to transfer to another school.
Also during Monday’s meeting, the Board approved the negotiated agreement with NEA-Hutchinson for the 2017-18 school year. Licensed staff approved the negotiated agreement at a meeting on Jan. 10.