The school board's decision on specific school site closings has been made in Anoka-Hennepin School Dist. 11, but the work is far from over. Communicating the changes and discussing new school boundaries are key areas of focus for school officials.

Everyone from school board members to principals are working to communicate these changes and gather input from community members. Now is the time to for parents to raise questions and voice concerns over the proposed boundary changes.

How will the proposed changes directly impact Champlin and Dayton students? While the answer is not clear-cut, the impact appears to affect some more than others.

For the time being, the changes for students in the Dayton Elementary School attendance area are minimal.

"We are working to maintain the current school boundaries for all schools in the Hennepin County portion of the district," said Dayton Elementary Principal Joan Iserman. "In this [school boundary] proposal, all students currently residing in the Dayton attendance area would remain at Dayton, and our only new additional students would be kindergarten children who already live in the current Dayton attendance boundaries."

Dayton Elementary would offer the district every other day kindergarten programming.

"The proposals being discussed at this time are easily accommodated by the Dayton school facility," Iserman said. "We welcome kindergarten again to Dayton and will be making more specific plans soon after the board finalizes the boundary decision in late November."

Iserman said she would like to offer a Kindergarten-extra option for families who want the full-day kindergarten experience for their children. Iserman has made herself available to answer questions at some of the school's extracurricular events such as the school-wide math night Tuesday, Oct. 13. She will also be on-hand at the school to visit with parents during conferences the week of Oct. 19.

On the other side of the river, Champlin Elementary will be closing this summer. The current proposal moves all K-5 students from Champlin Elementary next year to the new specialty site with Riverview students. This site will include the current Park View kindergarten building and a portion of Jackson Middle School.

Iserman also said that it is important for parents and all residents to know that if the levy doesn't pass Nov. 3, the school board is prepared to close another school. Exactly which school would be announced Nov. 9.

Because the final outcome of the district's overall picture can fluctuate based on the passage or failure of the levy, the school board will hold off on making a final boundary decision until mid-December.

In the meantime, several meetings are scheduled where public input is requested. The key meeting in the local area is set for Wednesday, Oct. 28, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Champlin Park High School auditorium. School board members will be present to hear comments and concerns.

Iserman suggested that public input could still affect boundary decisions if a trend emerges from parents so it is important for those with concerns to share them with school principals and board members now during the public hearing phase.

List of meetings on Dist. 11 school boundary changes

The following is a list of meetings scheduled throughout the district to discuss the proposed school boundary changes in Anoka-Hennepin School Dist. 11:

Monday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m., Anoka High School auditorium, 3939 Seventh Ave. N., Anoka

Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., Andover High School, 2115 Andover Blvd. N.W., Andover

Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m., Coon Rapids High School, 2340 Northdale Blvd. Coon Rapids

Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m., Champlin Park High School, 6025-109th Ave. N., Brooklyn Park

Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., Blaine High School, 12555 University Ave. N.E., Blaine

The schools to close include both kindergarten centers, Peter Enich in Anoka and Park View in Champlin with all those students returning to their home schools. Champlin Elementary School in Champlin and Riverview Specialty School for Math and Environmental Science in Brooklyn Park will close. Students from those schools will go to Park View, which becomes an elementary, and some at Jackson Middle School in Champlin. Sandburg Middle School in Anoka will close and Washington Elementary School in Anoka will become a sixth-grade only school that will combine Sandburg and Fred Moore Middle School students. L.O. Jacob Elementary School and Sorteberg Elementary School, both in Coon Rapids, will close.

The closings come from a list of 17 schools recommended by a community-member based Facilities Use Taskforce that worked from April to August on finding more money to spend on saving teachers and identifying empty space in schools. The staff recommendation that the board approved stemmed from one of two Taskforce suggestions on how closings could look like.

- Compiled by Stefanie Briggs