Boundaries drawn for new elementary school in Jackson

East Elementary School in Jackson will house its first students this fall, and district officials have established boundary lines that determine which students will attend the new facility.

An estimated 400 kindergarten through fifth-grade students, as well as about 300 early childhood students, will attend the 105,000-square-foot building being constructed on 15 acres at 455 N. Lacey St.

The project is being financed with a $16 million bond issue that was approved by voters in April 2012.

Wade Bartels, associate superintendent of finance and business operations, said South Elementary students who live within the new boundary lines will attend East Elementary, as well as some students who now attend Orchard and West Lane elementaries.

Third-grade students from the Gordonville attendance area will then go to South Elementary instead of Orchard and West Lane.

"We were able to change some of the things that were in our attendance boundaries and make them a little more logical and make sense for transportation," Bartels said. "It shifts quite a few students, but as far as revamping the whole thing, it's fairly minor."

District staff Wednesday were finishing a list of street names and corresponding attendance areas that will be available on the district's website.

The information was posted online, and parents were notified. Now that the areas have been established, kindergarten enrollment is slated from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 5 at South Elementary.

Superintendent Ron Anderson said the new school and arrangements will provide allowances for growth throughout the district.

"Before, we had some class numbers that were really larger than we preferred," Anderson said. "But there wasn't much we could do -- we had no space for them. But now, when the dust settles, we'll end up with more sections somewhere."

Bartels said the changes also will be a benefit for transportation within the district, which serves a 285-square-mile area.

"We've got Orchard, West Lane, the middle school and junior high in a pretty small area on the west side of town," he said. "So now this will funnel kids from West Lane and Orchard to the east side of town, where they're already living. It should help ease some traffic."

Before construction began on East Elementary, the city conducted a traffic study.

The campus is expected to bring heavier traffic to the area, city officials said, so a traffic signal will be installed at Lacey and East Main streets.

Anderson said he doesn't anticipate any public

backlash.

"We thought it through, we looked at public transportation and we continued to tweak and monitor the numbers so it can be as accurate as possible," he said. "I really don't anticipate anything unusual. I think it's going to be a win-win situation."

klamb@semissourian.com

388-3639

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614 E. Adams St., Jackson, Mo.