In November, the school board voted to designate our newest building, Elementary #8, where current Liberty students will transition next year, as "Liberty Elementary." At the same time, the original building will be renamed "Heritage Elementary" as a tribute to its status as the founding K-12 building.
Over the past 15 years, the District has experienced an overall growth rate of approximately 9% each year, during this same period, Liberty's enrollment has seen consistent growth, with an annual increase of about 5%, except for years when a new elementary opened. At the time of the bond for the new elementary school, there was a proposal to split Grades 2 - 5 (or Grades 1 - 5, depending on enrollment), with PreK - Kindergarten (or 1st Grade) remaining at Heritage Elementary (current Liberty building). However, in an unexpected turn, Liberty's enrollment has declined by about 5.5% since last year.
After several meetings, the Liberty Grade Span Committee will announce a recommendation to the board at the December meeting concerning the arrangement of grade levels at both Liberty and Heritage Elementary. In response to this unique situation, the committee will be recommending the relocation of all K-5 students to the new Liberty Elementary building until an increase in enrollment no longer makes this possible.
As part of a broader collaboration, the school district and city are actively working together to determine the best use of Heritage Elementary as a joint-use facility with the goal of optimizing the space for district and city programming.
We value the input of our community members, and there will be an opportunity for public input at the Monday, December 18th and January 8th board meetings.