The Highline School District on Friday announced that the transition of 6th grade to middle school will be delayed at least one year.
“Originally slated for fall 2015, the 6th grade move will occur no earlier than September 2016,” the district said in a release.
The district says that the change was made “in part as a response to parent concerns about sixth graders having to make two moves during middle school — once to an interim site, and again to a new school facility.
“The district plans to build two new middle schools to accommodate growing enrollment. The capital bond on last November’s ballot would have funded construction of two middle schools slated to open in September 2017. Students attending those schools would have been housed in interim sites for two years.”
The new timeline allows district leaders to seek a solution that would eliminate the need for interim middle school sites.
“One benefit of this change is that it allows more time to plan the sixth-grade transition,” said Superintendent Susan Enfield.
Community meetings where families can participate in the planning process will resume in January and continue through the spring.
Construction of new middle schools will require passage of a capital bond. The November bond received 59.3 percent of the vote, just short of the 60 percent “supermajority” needed for passage. The school board is gathering community input now as it decides when to place another bond on the ballot.