MUKILTEO – The two largest high schools and several other schools in the Mukilteo School District won’t take any more out-of-district transfer students next fall because they are too full.
Seven of 18 schools, including the high schools, a middle school and some elementary schools, are putting the cap in place. The schools are mostly from the district’s fast-growing east side.
“Restricting admission to students who live outside of our school district area will help provide more classroom space for the students who live within the school district,” said Superintendent Marci Larsen.
There are many reasons for out-of-district transfer students, said Andy Muntz, a school district spokesman.
They can be children of employees, students from neighboring districts and students who used to live in the area who want to remain with friends, he said.
They also include foreign exchange students.
Kamiak and Mariner high schools; Voyager Middle School; and Challenger, Fairmount, Odyssey and Olivia Park elementary schools will have the restrictions in place.
It is the third straight year the district has imposed caps at different schools. Last year, three schools restricted admission.
The caps are likely to remain in place for years to come. Enrollment projections show that more than 350 additional elementary students will enter Mukilteo schools in the next five years. Most are expected in schools that are already overcrowded.
There are 30 out-of-district students at Kamiak this year. Most are grandfathered in or are the children of teachers. The need to reserve classroom space for local students has meant not accepting foreign exchange students at Kamiak.
Kamiak, which just opened six portable classrooms, has had the limits all three years. Its capacity is about 1,900 students, but its head count exceeds 2,100.
Principal Keith Rittel believes it is a prudent policy to serve neighborhood families first.
“They are the local taxpayers who are the ones who we feel the greatest obligation to,” Rittel said. “The bigger challenge is we are a big high school and there are many families that would love to bring in foreign exchange students.”
Mariner also had a cap imposed last year, but it was lifted in the fall when enrollment was lower than projected, Muntz said. There are 106 out-of-district students who attend Mariner.
Space is also at a premium at Challenger, an elementary in south Everett.
“It’s difficult when you have to share with a parent that you don’t have a space for their child, but we need to serve our neighborhood kids first,” said Dirk Adkinson, principal at Challenger.
At Odyssey Elementary in the southeast corner of the district, students within the school boundaries might have trouble getting into the school. The school is so full the district has decided to send would-be Odyssey students who move into four new housing developments under construction to Picnic Point Elementary school, which has more room.
“This is part of the consequence of when you have more kids than you have buildings,” Muntz said.
The school district is expected to propose a bond measure in 2008 that would likely include building a new elementary school in the high-growth eastside.
The district has land near Lake Stickney that once included an elementary school.
A bond measure that included the elementary school proposal failed last year. It received a 56.6 percent “yes” vote, falling short of the state’s 60 percent supermajority requirement.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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