BARLING -- The Fort Smith School District is considering moving the attendance area for Barling Elementary students so they eventually attend Southside High School.
The district met with roughly 20 parents at the elementary school Monday evening to get their input about the change.
Most Barling students attend Chaffin Middle School before attending Northside High School at 2301 N. B St., which is 6.9 miles away from the elementary school. Southside is at 4100 Gary St., 6.6 miles away.
Deputy Superintendent Marty Mahan presented the annual enrollment for each high school dating to 1989. He said Northside had less enrollment than Southside until 2015, where it jumped to having 84 more students than Southside.
Attendance has continued to grow, with Northside having 703 more students than Southside in the 2021-2022 school year, at 2,497 and 1,794, respectively, and 477 more students in the current school year, with 2,433 and 1,956, respectively.
The max capacity Northside can have is 2,787. The max capacity at Southside is 2,739.
Mahan said one reason for the jump in numbers is freshmen were added to the high schools in the 2021-2022 school year.
The district's 10-year enrollment projection if the attendance zones remain the same shows Northside having 300 or more students than Southside each year. Projections show Northside as still having more attendance if Barling was shifted to Southside in the next five years, but by less than 200 students.
By the 2030-2031 school year, Southside is predicted to eclipse Northside's enrollment by one student.
Mahan said the district allows attendance area exceptions, which allows students to request which school they want to attend regardless of where they're zoned. He said there are no plans to change or cap the number of exceptions allowed, nor make students move from their current schools.
Mahan had attendees write their questions down, which were collected and addressed after his presentation.
One parent asked how many Barling students currently attend each high school, and Mahan said it's currently about a 50/50 split.
Another parent questioned whether the split would continue despite the rezoning if attendance area exceptions are still allowed.
Mahan said that's something the district will have to consider.
A parent asked if the imbalance was anticipated when the ninth grade was added to the high schools.
Mahan said an imbalance was anticipated because the district's two largest grade levels entered grades 9 and 10 this year. He said the district didn't anticipate the enrollment difference between the high schools to get as high as 700, however.
Mahan said he thinks Northside's enrollment is bigger than Southside's due to a number of factors, and the district might want to ask students why they're selecting a certain school.
"We haven't done a survey that would just be specific to this," he clarified, "but when students come to do an attendance area exception, and they meet with student services, they ask for a specific reason around why. A lot of times it's not specific enough. It could be general preference, it could be parents are alumni of that high school, it could be tradition, but a better survey is probably something we can look at."
Mahan said Barling students and parents were sent a survey to get their feedback on the potential rezoning, but the district is also interested in community feedback.
Desirae Niemann teaches her fifth-grade math and science class Friday at Barling Elementary School in Barling. Fort Smith's School District had a community meeting about the potential rezoning for the the school's attendance area Monday. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Desirae Niemann (right) works with Luna Davis and other students Friday during her fifth-grade math and science class at Barling Elementary School in Barling. Fort Smith's School District had a community input meeting about the potential rezoning for the attendance area on Monday. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)