The Bellevue School Board was briefed Tuesday on school crowding, setting the stage for possibly redrawing school attendance boundaries. The district emphasized that it doesn’t  have any timeline for making any changes.

“This is not something we choose to do, it’s something we must engage in. We’re over-crowded,” said Supt. Amalia Cudeiro, who emphasized that the meeting was only preliminary, and that when the process eventually starts, it will be slow-going to allow for community input.

The district has been talking about long-term solutions to population growth since last year when Bellevue was identified as the fastest-growing district in King County. While not every school is crowded, each year the district grows by between 2 and 3 percent, according to Jacque Coe, district spokesperson.

In 2010, the district hired a demographer to help get a better understanding of population growth trends. Now, the district is picking up where it left off last year, by initiating the conversation on what to do next.

A central component of the presentation Tuesday included hearing from Richard Withycombe, a consultant who has worked with districts along the Interstate 5 corridor and Kitsap Peninsula, including Issaquah and Seattle.

School board members asked Withycombe questions including how to keep student populations culturally, racially and socioeconomically diverse if new boundaries are drawn.

Withycombe said many districts choose to include language in their values statements, affirming the importance of diversity. However, he added, it’s important not to “move youngsters, just for those reasons, either.”

The process of making new rules for assignment and boundaries is an extremely sensitive one, he said.

“It involves students, families, parents – places they care enormously for, which is why it has to be done carefully, thoughtfully and with integrity.”

As it moves forward, the district will look at which areas have the most growth; establish a committee with representatives from every school; develop a proposal and then formulate a communications plan to help keep the community informed.

While committees would help with a final recommendation, the school board would have to make decisions on policies such as grandfathering and placement in specific educational programs, Coe said.

She also emphasized that nothing about the district’s solution to student population growth is set in stone.

“We’re talking about ‘are we even ready to start this process in the first place? Is it even a good time?'” she said.

Gabrielle Nomura can be reached at 425-453-4270.