Capo Unified to Redraw Boundaries in Wake of School Closing

Now that the controversial decision to close Barcelona Hills Elementary to make way for a local charter school is in the past, the Capistrano Unified School District will tackle redrawing the attendance boundaries.

When the school board decided to close the Mission Viejo campus last year, the district allowed Barcelona families to choose between Castille and Reilly elementaries for the 2012-13 school year.

According to a Power Point presentation the Board of Trustees will see Wednesday, 137 students decided for Castille while 174 chose Reilly.

Some did end up at other schools: 17 at Bathgate Elementary, while the rest, 16 students, are scattered throughout the district.

District staff is recommending that all current students be allowed to remain where they are, according to a school board report. Younger siblings, too, should be able to join wherever their older siblings attend.

But incoming students should be divided up by neighborhood, with about two-thirds in the old Barcelona boundary going to Castille and one-third to Reilly, the numbers show.

“Under this proposal, neither site will reach their historical maximum enrollment within the next six years,” the agenda report states.

Castille had a maximum enrollment of 845 students back in 1999-2000. It has 637 students today.

Reilly reached a peak of 761 students in 1997-98. It has 508 students this year.

The board meets 7 p.m. Wednesday at the district headquarters, 33122 Valle Road in San Juan Capistrano.