Pocatello/Chubbuck school board not yet ready to make a decision on boundaries

No decision yet.

That was the result of the Pocatello/Chubbuck school board’s meeting on Thursday night.

The board met to discuss the proposed boundary changes for local middle schools and high schools.

The meeting was not open for public comment, only for discussion and question among school board members and staff.

The board looked at all the proposed changes and discussed their concerns and what they liked about the changes. They asked questions from members of the school district’s administration to clarify parts of the changes.

The board also took into consideration the comments made from last week’s public hearing, and the 120 pages of public feedback and comment that were submitted throughout the week.

After more than two hours of discussion, the board felt it needed some more information and clarification before making a final decision. The board asked the administration to come back with some other possible proposals that could be done, such as splitting up certain areas of the boundaries, or rearranging other regions.

It also wanted more numbers to consider about how much the changes would affect future enrollment.

The board wants to be able to look at and consider all possible options before voting on any parts of the proposed changes.

The board will meet again Wed. Jan 17 and hopes to be able to take action on the proposed changes then.

In the meeting, it was addressed a timely decision on these changes is being done now rather than the end of the school year because high school registration is in February so any changes made would need to be in effect before then.