Setting Boundaries in Basalt Schools
As the downvalley community in the Roaring Fork Valley has grown, so has the demand for more educators and bigger schools. In an informal meeting held last week, Superintendant Haptonstall and Principal Suzanne Wheeler-Del Piccolo addressed some rising concerns of 50 parents, including the crowding in Basalt schools and lack of long-tenured educators.
The RE-1 School District will likely build a new school in Blue Lake, a subdivision in El Jebel, where it has already secured 7 acres and has a contract to purchase 7 more, according to Roaring Fork School District Superintendent Judy Haptonstall.
Some of the schools have fairedbetter in test scores, and are therefore more attractive to local families than the schools closer to their homes. The RE-1 School Board decided at its January meeting that it would no longer accept students at Soprisand Basalt Elementary schools who live outside the attendance boundaries. Both schools are at capacity, while Carbondale Elementary School has space and is located between the two school areas.
Historically, there have been many exceptions granted by the School Board to families within different school boundaries, especially when there was plenty of room in all of the schools. Because of the allowed exceptions, more children attended Basalt and Sopris Elementary Schools, and their younger siblings followed suit.
Several parents expressed frustration with the new policy, noting other children in their neighborhood attend the elementary school or that their real estate agent said their house was within the attendance boundary.
The short teacher tenure at the Basalt schools has been an outstanding issue for local parents, and it has been attributed to the lack of affordable housing for teachers. Haptonstall explained the district has land in Carbondale and long-standing plans for 89 affordable housing units to dedicate to educators. But she conceded that significant hurdles still exist for the project — such as an $8 million funding shortfall. “I believe this is the ninth year we’ve been working on that project,” Haptonstall said.
Even if you do not have children, It is always important to know in which school district your home is located. It can certainly be a useful selling tool.
