×
×
homepage logo

Ogden School District plans to redraw boundaries generate muted response

By Tim Vandenack - | Feb 17, 2023
1 / 3
The outside of James Madison Elementary in Ogden, pictured Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. School district officials are considering closing the school.
2 / 3
The proposed new boundaries for Ogden School District elementary schools for the 2023-2024 school year.
3 / 3
This image shows the current boundaries of James Madison Elementary, outlined in blue in the middle of the map, and the portions of the district that would be absorbed by other schools if it is closed, as proposed.

OGDEN — The proposal to close James Madison Elementary and send kids now attending the school to four other schools hasn’t generated any significant opposition.

Ogden school officials on Thursday held a public hearing on the plans and the broader proposal to redraw school boundaries for the 2023-2024 school year, drawing no commenters. Likewise, a series of open houses last week on the plans drew few people, school officials say.

“I wish more people would have shown up,” said Jer Bates, Ogden School District spokesperson.

Chad Carpenter, an assistant superintendent in the district, said a survey on the redistricting issue didn’t indicate any major issues among respondents. “While there were some that had questions, it didn’t feel like there was a lot of opposition,” he said.

Some in the James Madison Elementary district, Carpenter said, seem more worried about what the proposed closure of the school may mean to the sense of community in the neighborhood than what moving to another school may mean for kids.

With enrollment declining in the Ogden School District, school officials propose closing James Madison Elementary and redrawing the boundaries of Polk, New Bridge, Liberty and Odyssey elementary schools to take in the James Madison kids. The James Madison structure, located in east-central Ogden, would continue to house the Midtown Community Health Center and school leaders are thinking of moving the district’s adult education program to the facility.

At the same time, the plans call for expanding the boundaries of Bonneville Elementary to include the boundaries of nearby Hillcrest Elementary. District officials intend on closing Hillcrest so it can be rebuilt, with Hillcrest students going to Bonneville during construction.

School officials didn’t act on the boundary proposal at Thursday’s meeting, but Bates said they indicated their intent to approve the changes and will tentatively take the matter up at a March 2 meeting.

Even so, school officials at Thursday’s meeting picked R&O Construction of Ogden to handle the preliminary steps of the Hillcrest rebuild and VCBO Architecture of Salt Lake City to handle design of the new school. The total estimated project cost is $47 million, to be funded using lease-revenue bonds, and $2.68 million would go to R&O and $2.5 million would go to VCBO, according to district paperwork on the plans.

The total project budget is to come to the board for approval once costs are pinpointed.

Hillcrest sits on a 9.5-acre site at at 130 N. Eccles Ave. Plans call for demolition of the old building and construction of a new 96,000-square-foot, four-section facility that can hold up to 800 kids. Bids for construction are to be opened next December, when construction is to begin, and the new school is to be substantially finished by June 2025 in time for the 2025-2026 school year.

Some school officials have hinted that once the new Hillcrest structure is complete, Bonneville will close and its students will attend Hillcrest.

Starting at $4.32/week.

Subscribe Today