Voters defeated a $198 million bond for Peoria Unified School District last year. The district governing board is hearing input Tuesday about how to manage continuing growth in the North.
Officials say at least one school will be at capacity next year, with more expected as housing developments keep popping up.
Enrollment is increasing, and the failed bond would have gone to a new elementary and high school up north.
The governing board established a committee to look at shifting the district’s boundaries to spread out enrollment. The committee is meeting this week to present the boundary proposal.
PUSD Administrator Steve Savoy says moving students is not a permanent solution to overcrowding.
“We know we have a short-term solution, but we still have to focus on the long-term solution as well," he said. "Which eventually will have to be new schools in that area.”
The committee is proposing shifting district boundaries to move students around, along with another another possible bond vote.
Savoy says fast development north of Bell Road will need to be addressed.
“Within three years? All of those schools will be over capacity because of the plans the city has approved and the builders are developing to continue building in that area,” he said.
The committee will be reaching out in future public meetings for community input. The first one is March 28, and Savoy expects more meetings. He says they've already gotten hundreds of comments and emails about the proposal.
The Peoria Unified Governing Board still has to approve the new boundaries and bond proposal.
