Start times, attendance boundaries changing at Ridgefield schools

Ridgefield School District will have new start times and school attendance boundaries starting in the fall for the 2018-2019 school year.

South Ridge Elementary School and Union Ridge Elementary School will run from 9:05 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. It’s not much of a change for South Ridge, which currently starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. Union Ridge currently runs from 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

Sunset Ridge Intermediate School and View Ridge Middle School will start at 8:05 a.m. and end at 2:35 p.m. View Ridge starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m. this year, and Sunset Ridge is a new school opening in the fall. Ridgefield High School’s start and end time will remain the same, with school running from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

As for boundary changes, students residing in the carve-out in the Pioneer Canyon subdivision area previously in the South Ridge boundary will go to Union Ridge to adhere to neighborhood school attendance and to increase transportation efficiency.

The boundary between the two elementary schools will shift northward to move newer developments from Union Ridge into South Ridge to help balance out attendance, as expanding enrollment from new subdivisions would add to rapidly growing enrollment at Union Ridge.

The district will automatically approve boundary exceptions for third-graders so they don’t have to move to a new school for their final year of elementary school. The district will also allow for all students to apply for in-district boundary exceptions. The district will adhere to the expectation that student transportation is the responsibility of parents and guardians for all in-district boundary exceptions.

The changes were suggested to the school board by the Boundary & Start Time Committee, which was formed in the fall.