Despite the need for a new elementary school to relieve the district’s enrollment growth, some Bellevue residents have reservations about changes to the attendance map will impact their schoolchildren and property values.
The Bellevue School District’s growth has already placed a slight strain on the Enatai, Woodridge and Clyde Hill elementary schools, which will only been heightened with continuing development in Downtown Bellevue and the construction of the Spring District.
Current calculations estimate the enrollment for that area’s elementary schools will increase 13 percent between 2017 and 2022. Meanwhile, the student body for the Chinook, Odle and Tyee Middle Schools and Bellevue, Sammamish and Newport High Schools is projected to rise 15 percent in that same time period.
To address rising enrollment — the number of students in the district has already been growing by roughly 600 students, or the average elementary school’s student body, annually for the last few years — the district is in the beginning stages of building a new elementary school, currently referred to as “Elementary 18” or “E18”.
How that will impact neighboring schools is still undecided, and some parents are concerned about the potential changes.
Several community members spoke to the Bellevue School Board about their concerns in March. Preliminary attendance areas had been submitted to the city last year, as required during the planning process caused community concerns. However, the district is still defining the attendance area for Elementary 18 and the changes to existing schools.
The Bellevue School District held three separate open houses over the past few weeks to get feedback from the community about the options for new attendence areas and feeder schools, which residents attended in droves.
Information on the 11 proposed scenarios — five for the elementary schools and six for the middle and high schools — were available to the public, as well as the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback to the committee resposible for choosing the new attendance areas.
The elementary attendance area options presented largely affect five blocks between Main Street and Northeast 12th Street, while changes for middle and high schools could affect larger portions of Bellevue.
Vic and Kodi Benitez, who live in Wilburton on one of the dividing line for the proposals, said they have accepted that their two children may have to switch from Woodridge Elementary School to Elementary 18, but are concerned that their children may be separated from their neighborhood friends.
“We’re on this weird cusp, so we could have a neighbor one block over who ends up going to a different school,” said Vic Benitez, who grew up in the Bellevue school system and faced a similar problem. “I went to Sammamish High School, and all of my friends ended up being placed in Bellevue High School. It was disappointing.”
The district previously stated that it intends to leave the residual Woodridge, Enatai and Clyde Hill attendance area unchanged in their assignment to Chinook and Bellevue High as secondary feeders.
In addition, many residents also voiced concerns about the effect of any attendance area changes on their home prices, including the Benitez family.
There is a perception in the city that Bellevue High School is the best of the four options, said long-time resident Bill Boxton, whose own children went to Bellevue High School and who now has grandchildren in the district.
“This could potentially change the value of our homes,” said Iulia Georgiu, whose children attend Bellevue High School. That being said, she recognizes that she may not like the changes made.
“They can’t chose one thing that will be best for everybody,” she said. “They have to do what they have to do, especially with all of the growth.”
The attendance committee is meeting twice over the coming weeks and is hoping to submit a proposal to the school board next month.
