Surprise, AZ News blog

Some suggested revisiting one of the original proposals so their children could remain at their current schools and maintain stability. Other parents said they did not want to see their children change schools next year, only to have them move again to another school in the next few years.

Board member Christine Pritchard said she received numerous e-mails and spoke with parents from the Orchards community who were upset their children would not be able to attend nearby Parkview Elementary. She said she did not want to see communities split up.

However, district officials said it was the best plan under the district’s current circumstances.

Continued population growth triggered the need to build new elementary schools. The unexpected approval of a K-8 school at the Las Brisas site in El Mirage also caused several ripple effects that affected more school boundaries than was originally planned.

Superintendent Gail Pletnick said there is no perfect answer to school boundaries.

“What our community and we would want is that we never have to move any of our children, we’re able to keep all of our schools at that optimal number, and we don’t have to use buses,” Pletnick said. “Unfortunately, that is impossible for us as a district.”