Visalia USD looks to change school boundaries, again

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Visalia Unified School Board has announced they are looking at making a change to new school boundaries. The announcement comes after some parents say they weren't included in the first decision.

A new middle school is taking shape in Visalia. Work is moving along to get it open for the 2016 school year -- and now the school board needs to decide which students will go there.

"We did decide last May and June, but since that time there has been a perception by some parents that they weren't aware," said Superintendent Craig Wheaton, Visalia Unified School District.

Wheaton said the school spent six months holding public meetings and reviewing 20 different maps to determine the best one for all their families. Then the decision was made -- except parents of Fairview Elementary say they weren't informed. "My neighbor is the one that actually told me and then I told my sister-in-law," said Rosie Flores, mom.

Flores says she bought her house in the school boundaries because she wants her kids to ultimately end up at Redwood. The district's decision would now send her kids to Golden West instead.

The district says they also need to re-draw high school boundaries because Redwood is overcrowded.

The board is meeting at Redwood High in the LJ Williams Theater on September 15 at 6 p.m. They will vote to rescind their last decision, reconsider 5 potential maps and take public comment.

"We hope that in the end though there are going to be people who are unhappy with the decision that everyone knows that the board really gave everyone a chance to give input," said Wheaton.

The district wants to create boundaries that won't need to be changed for many years. But with plans to build a new high school in the future, high school boundaries at some point will change again.