District considers boundaries for new Sierra Pacific

In just under a year, Hanford's third full-service high school will open its doors to the first class of freshman Golden Bears. A new class will be added each year until the 2012-2013 school year, when the original freshmen are seniors and the school has a full, four-year student body.

On Tuesday, Hanford Joint Union High School District trustees began the process of deciding from which residence areas Sierra Pacific High School students will come.

Consultant firm Paoli & Odell Inc. conducted a study to develop four potential attendance boundaries. On Tuesday, consultant Mike Paoli presented trustees with the study. District officials will present the scenarios for community input before trustees make a decision.

Sierra Pacific is one of multiple components in Hanford's Joint Educational Center, which is set on 13th Avenue, just south of Grangeville Boulevard. The center will also house the new College of the Sequoias Hanford Center, the City of Hanford's recently completed softball complex, and vocational training facilities to serve the community. Sierra Pacific is currently under construction, and set to be complete in July.

Existing boundaries for Hanford High and Hanford West High schools were created with input from parents and community members. Residence areas served by the Delta View Joint Union Elementary School District, the Kings River-Hardwick Elementary School District, Kit Carson Union Elementary School District, Lakeside Union Elementary School District and the eastern portion of Hanford Elementary School District contain students that feed into Hanford High School.

Students who reside in the westerly half of Hanford Elementary School District, as well as Pioneer Union Elementary School District and Armona Union Elementary School District, feed into Hanford West High School.

The school district established the current high school attendance boundaries in 2006. Before that, it was an open enrollment district -- meaning that local students could choose to attend either comprehensive high school regardless of where they lived. Now, and when Sierra Pacific opens, students are required to attend the school in the boundaries of their residence, unless they meet specified transfer criteria.

Paoli said that 10 goals set in meetings with district administration guided the study and the resulting potential boundary scenarios.

Of the four scenarios presented, District Superintendent Bill Fishbough said he did not have an initial preference.

"All four options are pretty similar," Fishbough said. "The demographics and growth patterns of our school district and our desire to maintain neighborhood schools dictate the general pattern of the attendance areas. Parents who are familiar with our current boundaries shouldn't be too surprised by these recommendations."

The first presented scenario marked no change to existing Hanford High boundaries. But a portion of Hanford Elementary School District from 12th Avenue east to the existing Hanford High boundary and part of Pioneer school district bounded by Flint Avenue, Fargo Avenue, 10th Avenue and the railroad would be included in the Hanford West boundary. Students in the Armona school district, and the portion of Hanford Elementary School District west of 12th Avenue, and Pioneer -- except the portion already mentioned -- would feed into Sierra Pacific.

Scenario two was the same as the first, except that students of Lakeside district would attend Sierra Pacific, instead of Hanford High School.

The third scenario was the same as the first, except that the neighborhood bounded by Flint Avenue, Fargo Avenue, 10th Avenue and Douty Street would attend Hanford High School, and the boundary between Hanford High and Hanford West would follow Hanford Elementary School District's existing middle school boundaries.

The fourth scenario is also the same as the first scenario, except that the portion of Kings River-Hardwick Elementary School District west of 12th Avenue would attend Sierra Pacific, instead of Hanford High.

"The long-term goal is to balance all three high schools," Fishbough said. "But for the short-term, Sierra Pacific will start out with lower numbers. As we add new class levels each year and as our community continues to grow, Sierra Pacific will grow as well."

The Hanford Elementary School District would be divided among all three high school attendance areas under all four scenarios. Pioneer district is divided between Hanford West and Sierra Pacific under scenarios one, two and four; and all three attendance areas under scenario three. Kings River-Hardwick is divided between Hanford High and Sierra Pacific under scenario four. No other elementary districts are divided.

Fishbough said the next step will be to receive community input. The district will send information to local parents to encourage their participation in the decision-making process. The district will host community meetings on the evenings of Sept. 24 and Oct. 1 to present more information and invite opinions.

Board President John Draxler said the information presented at Tuesday's meeting would "take some time to digest." The board is expected to make a boundary decision at its second meeting in November.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2424.

(Aug. 27, 2008)