Planning for Growth

On September 28, 2026, the Board of Education unanimously approved the Planning for Growth school-organization and implementation framework for the 2027–2028 school year.

Beginning in 2027–2028, Central, Mt. Horeb, and Woodland will serve students in grades K–3; Angelo L. Tomaso School (ALT) will become the District’s grades 4–5 upper elementary school; and Warren Middle School will continue to serve grades 6–8. Preschool will be centralized at Mt. Horeb. The approved framework also establishes the initial K–3 special-program planning locations of Autism at Central and ERI/LLD at Woodland.

The Board also authorized the District to proceed with implementation planning and directed the development of final K–3 attendance zones for later Board approval. The September 28 action did not finalize individual student assignments, transportation routes or school times, individual staff assignments, room-by-room placements, or detailed schedules. 

The Board-approved school structure begins in 2027–2028. Student school assignments, program locations, school times, and bus routes remain in place during the 2026–2027 school year as a result of Planning for Growth.

The work occurring this year is implementation planning and preparation. That includes developing final K–3 attendance zones, transportation and school times, staffing and program plans, facility and classroom preparations, the 2027–2028 budget, and student, family, and staff transition supports.

Some decisions will be communicated as they are completed rather than waiting until every implementation detail is finished. Families should therefore expect information to become increasingly specific throughout the school year, while clearly distinguishing between what is still being modeled or proposed and what has become final.

Final K–3 attendance zones were not approved on September 28. The Board approved Central, Mt. Horeb, and Woodland as the three K–3 schools and directed the District to complete the attendance-zone work for subsequent Board consideration.

The District is continuing to refine the proposed zones using enrollment and section balance, neighborhood and street continuity, transportation, long-term sustainability, student movement, and the effect on students who experienced the 2023–2024 rezoning. Final zones will return to the Board of Education through a public approval process. 

The goal is to establish the zones with enough lead time for families and schools to prepare for 2027–2028 and for kindergarten registration and other planning to occur using the new attendance structure. Families will receive updated maps, assignment information, and timing as the zoning work advances. The current target is for the Board to consider final K–3 attendance zones in December 2026. That timing could move into January 2027 if additional analysis or review is needed. The District will explain the proposed zones before Board action.

Transportation analysis completed before the September 28 vote established that the approved school configuration has a workable transportation pathway. That analysis was intended to establish feasibility, not to select final routes, stops, tiering, or school schedules.

The District is now moving into detailed transportation design. This work includes school start and end times, bus utilization, route design, ride times, stops, specialized transportation, driver and vehicle needs, and coordination with Watchung Hills Regional High School and other regional partners.

No final 2027–2028 routes, stops, ride times, bus assignments, or school start/end times have been established. Those details will be communicated as the operating structure is refined. When future transportation information is shared, the District will provide current-state context where useful so families can compare current conditions with proposed future conditions rather than viewing future estimates in isolation.

The District currently expects to bring school start/end-time and calendar recommendations forward for Board consideration this fall. Detailed bus routes and stops will be developed later and shared closer to the start of the 2027–2028 school year after they are finalized.

ALT will be a grades 4–5 upper elementary school, not an expansion of Warren Middle School.

The opening-year planning direction is to preserve the core elements of an elementary experience, including strong student-teacher relationships, homeroom identity, recess, specials, age-appropriate supervision, intervention, counseling, and student supports. Bringing grades 4 and 5 together will also create opportunities for greater grade-level collaboration and age-appropriate activities and experiences.

Detailed schedules, teaming structures, clubs, leadership opportunities, traditions, events, and daily routines have not yet been finalized. Those are implementation decisions that will be developed with staff and other stakeholders during 2026–2027. The objective is to create an age-appropriate upper-elementary experience while maintaining instructional and program continuity for students.

The District’s existing preschool program will remain centralized at Mt. Horeb. The approved framework also establishes initial K–3 special-program planning locations of Autism at Central and ERI/LLD at Woodland.

These are program-level planning locations, not predetermined placements for individual students. Individual special education placements will continue to be based on each student's needs, IEP, required services, and applicable law.

Implementation work during 2026–2027 will address detailed classroom locations, staffing and provider schedules, related services, transportation, inclusion and peer access, receiving-staff preparation, and student-specific transition supports. The District will continue working to provide stable, sustainable program locations while retaining the ability to respond appropriately to individual student needs. 

Families affected by specific special-program transitions will receive more individualized information as those plans become sufficiently clear, with transition communication and planning expected to increase during winter and spring 2027.

The District will determine positions and program needs first, followed by individual staff assignments.

The 2027–2028 staffing structure will be developed using final enrollment and section needs, student and program requirements, IEP and service needs, schedules, certification, vacancies and retirements, contractual requirements, and districtwide staffing needs. Individual assignments have not been predetermined.

The process will also provide opportunities for employee input and professional input from administrators. Staff preferences are meaningful information, but they cannot guarantee a particular building, grade, or assignment because student and program needs, certification, contractual requirements, and the available position structure must also be considered.

Because this work involves individual employees, some staffing information will appropriately be communicated through personnel and labor processes before individual decisions are discussed publicly. The District will continue communicating the overall staffing process and timeline as implementation advances. 

Financial considerations were part of Planning for Growth throughout the model-comparison and decision-readiness process. The pre-decision analysis considered staffing, transportation, facilities, program duplication, capital needs, implementation complexity, and potential cost avoidance. The District did not, however, publish a single total implementation-cost estimate before the September 28 structural decision.

A single reliable implementation-cost range was not available before the September 28 structural decision because several major cost categories depend on implementation decisions that are now being developed. Transportation costs depend on the final operating structure, school times and routing; facility and moving costs depend on final room use and building preparations; and staffing costs depend on final enrollment, section, program and position needs.

The earlier financial work was designed primarily to determine whether any known financial or resource condition made the proposed structure impractical. Detailed implementation costs depend on decisions that are now being developed. Transportation costs, for example, depend on the final operating structure, school times, routes, fleet and staffing needs. Facility and moving costs depend on final room use, furniture, technology, equipment, and building preparations. Staffing costs depend on final attendance zones, enrollment by school and grade, section counts, student and program needs, schedules, certification, vacancies and retirements, and required personnel processes.

Planning models also identified potential staffing and operating efficiencies. Those findings represent potential cost avoidance, not guaranteed savings or predetermined staff reductions. Specific staffing and operating impacts will be refined as student counts, position needs, schedules, and required personnel processes become clearer.

As the underlying assumptions become sufficiently reliable, the District will share preliminary planning ranges for major implementation-cost categories rather than waiting until final contracts or expenditures are approved.

Financial planning has now moved into the 2027–2028 budget-development process. The District will compare the cost of continuing current operations with the cost of implementing the approved structure and will share increasingly specific information as the underlying assumptions become reliable. Future updates will distinguish among current operating costs, one-time implementation expenses, projected recurring costs, potential cost avoidance, and final budgeted amounts.

Approval of the Planning for Growth framework did not approve an unlimited implementation budget. Future expenditures, contracts, staffing actions, and other matters requiring Board approval will continue through the District's regular public budget, procurement, personnel, and Board processes.

Financial considerations were part of Planning for Growth throughout the model-comparison and decision-readiness process. The pre-decision analysis considered staffing, transportation, facilities, program duplication, capital needs, implementation complexity, and potential cost avoidance. The District did not, however, publish a single total implementation-cost estimate before the September 28 structural decision.

A single reliable implementation-cost range was not available before the September 28 structural decision because several major cost categories depend on implementation decisions that are now being developed. Transportation costs depend on the final operating structure, school times and routing; facility and moving costs depend on final room use and building preparations; and staffing costs depend on final enrollment, section, program and position needs.

The earlier financial work was designed primarily to determine whether any known financial or resource condition made the proposed structure impractical. Detailed implementation costs depend on decisions that are now being developed. Transportation costs, for example, depend on the final operating structure, school times, routes, fleet and staffing needs. Facility and moving costs depend on final room use, furniture, technology, equipment, and building preparations. Staffing costs depend on final attendance zones, enrollment by school and grade, section counts, student and program needs, schedules, certification, vacancies and retirements, and required personnel processes.

Planning models also identified potential staffing and operating efficiencies. Those findings represent potential cost avoidance, not guaranteed savings or predetermined staff reductions. Specific staffing and operating impacts will be refined as student counts, position needs, schedules, and required personnel processes become clearer.

As the underlying assumptions become sufficiently reliable, the District will share preliminary planning ranges for major implementation-cost categories rather than waiting until final contracts or expenditures are approved.

Financial planning has now moved into the 2027–2028 budget-development process. The District will compare the cost of continuing current operations with the cost of implementing the approved structure and will share increasingly specific information as the underlying assumptions become reliable. Future updates will distinguish among current operating costs, one-time implementation expenses, projected recurring costs, potential cost avoidance, and final budgeted amounts.

Approval of the Planning for Growth framework did not approve an unlimited implementation budget. Future expenditures, contracts, staffing actions, and other matters requiring Board approval will continue through the District's regular public budget, procurement, personnel, and Board processes.

How did we get here?

Planning for Growth involved more than a year of demographic, facility, program, transportation, staffing, financial, and school-organization analysis involving the Planning for Growth Working Group, administration, consultants, the Board's Ad Hoc Planning for Growth Committee, staff, families, and community members.

Materials developed before the September 28 Board action remain available as part of the public record.