Building for the Future

• May 4th Community Engagement Session at La Follette:  View recording
• May 5th Community Engagement Session at East: View recording
• May 7th Community Engagement Session at Memoria: View recording
• May 11th Community Engagement Session at Kennedy: View recording
• May 12th Community Engagement Session at Boys and Girls Club: View recording
• May 13th Community Engagement Session at Olson Elementary: View recording
• May 15th Community Engagement Session at Bayview: View recording
• May 19th Community Engagement Session at UW South Madison Partnership: View recording
• May 20th Community Engagement Session at Warner Park Community Recreation Center: View recording
• May 22nd Community Engagement Session at Centro Hispano: View recording

• 6.23.2025 BOE Meeting: Recording, BoardDoc
• 11.24.2025 BOE Meeting: Recording, Board Doc
• 4.20.2026 BOE Meeting: Recording, Board Doc
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The existing attendance areas can be found on the attendance area page. You can filter by school or feeder pattern.

View current attendance areas

• 12/18/25: New Dane County population projections see growth accelerating

• Student Forecast Report (25-26): View report

Timeline: 8 weeks (February-April)

Goal: Review a variety of data sets such as feeder patterns, demographics and housing development AND DRAFT Scenario creation for the community to provide input on during community engagements in May 2026

Steering Committee Members:

• Two Board of Education members
• School Staff
• Content Area Experts

This process will be:

• Transparent: We will use standard data sources and provide frequent updates throughout the process.
• Collaborative: We will establish guiding principles and host community input forums and send out online surveys.
• Iterative: We will engage in a multi-step process while gathering input.
• Informative: We will provide the public with information so that they understand any needs and potential outcomes.
• Data Driven: We will engage in forecast factors, enrollment modeling and integration of forecast.

Building for the Future is not focused solely on school utilization or enrollment projections. One of our guiding principles is to consider socioeconomic, linguistic and racial diversity within and across schools as attendance areas are evaluated.

We recognize the important role that attendance areas, school configurations and programming can play in creating diverse learning environments. As part of this process, we are evaluating existing attendance areas and school models, including paired schools, while considering multiple factors such as demographics, utilization, transportation, neighborhood connections and student programming.

No decisions have been made regarding the future of any specific paired-school model. Community input will help inform future scenarios and recommendations.

The draft scenarios are based on enrollment forecasts and capacity analyses designed to anticipate future enrollment patterns over time, rather than sudden, unexpected increases. Our planning process considers current enrollment, projected housing development, student yield factors, birth rates and long-term enrollment forecasts.

While utilization rates may change as attendance areas are adjusted, the goal is to create sustainable attendance areas that balance enrollment across schools over the current, five-year and 10-year planning horizons.

Specific operational decisions about staffing, classroom assignments or building use would be addressed as part of implementation planning if attendance area changes are ultimately approved.

We have not established a specific demographic target or quota for individual schools as part of this process.

Instead, one of our guiding principles is to take a districtwide perspective by considering socioeconomic, linguistic and racial diversity within and across schools. In practice, this means reviewing how proposed attendance areas may affect the composition of student populations while balancing other important factors such as school utilization, transportation, neighborhood connections, student programming and minimizing disruption for families.

No single factor determines a boundary recommendation. The goal is to develop attendance area scenarios that thoughtfully consider all of our guiding principles together.

Yes. The maps shared during the community input sessions are draft scenarios intended to start conversations and gather feedback, not final recommendations. The purpose of the current phase of engagement is to learn what families and community members value and to identify strengths, concerns and potential improvements to the draft concepts.

We will continue refining scenarios throughout the process. Community feedback received during these sessions will help inform future iterations before any final recommendation is developed.

The draft scenarios presented during community input sessions are intended to generate feedback and identify potential concerns before any recommendations are finalized. One of our guiding principles is to maintain neighborhood schools where possible while considering natural boundaries, walkability, transportation and community connections.

Feedback about neighborhood identity, community cohesion and the potential creation of new island areas is an important part of this process. We will use community input to refine future scenarios and evaluate whether proposed attendance area changes align with the project's guiding principles.

The Building for the Future boundary review is focused on attendance areas, enrollment projections and school utilization. It is not intended to revise districtwide class-size policies.

Attendance area adjustments can affect enrollment at individual schools, which may influence staffing and class organization over time. However, decisions regarding class-size targets, staffing allocations and instructional models are separate from the boundary review process and would be made through our normal budgeting and staffing processes.

We recognize that families value neighborhood schools, and maintaining neighborhood connections is one of the guiding principles of the boundary review process. We are also considering factors such as enrollment trends, school capacity, transportation, student demographics and future growth when evaluating attendance areas.

The Building for the Future process is intended to balance these priorities rather than elevate a single factor above all others. Community feedback about neighborhood schools, facilities, transportation and long-term investments will help inform future scenarios and recommendations.

Questions about future facility investments, renovations or new construction are ultimately separate decisions that would be considered through our facilities planning and capital improvement processes.

The draft scenarios are informed by enrollment projections, utilization analyses and anticipated growth patterns across the district.

While the boundary review itself is focused on attendance areas and enrollment distribution, staffing implications are an important consideration whenever enrollment shifts occur. If attendance area changes are ultimately approved, staffing plans would be developed through the district's normal budgeting, hiring and school planning processes to support student enrollment and educational programming.

Specific staffing decisions have not been made as part of the current boundary review process.

Yes. One of our guiding principles is to consider socioeconomic diversity, along with linguistic and racial diversity, when evaluating attendance areas and potential boundary changes. We are taking a districtwide perspective and examining how attendance area scenarios may affect student demographics within and across schools.

Socioeconomic factors are one of several considerations in the process. Other guiding principles include school utilization, transportation, neighborhood connections, programming impacts and minimizing disruption for students and families.

No single factor determines a boundary recommendation. The goal is to develop attendance area scenarios that thoughtfully balance all of our guiding principles.

Transportation is one of our guiding principles in the Building for the Future process. As we evaluate attendance area scenarios, we are considering proximity to home, walkability, natural boundaries and opportunities to reduce the amount of time students spend on a bus.

While transportation impacts are being considered as part of the boundary review, we have not completed a detailed analysis of future bus routes or transportation costs for specific scenarios. As options continue to be refined, transportation implications will be evaluated alongside other factors such as utilization, demographics, programming and neighborhood connections.

No funding decisions have been made regarding potential future schools at the Acacia Ridge or Sprecher Road sites.

The current boundary review process is focused on understanding enrollment trends, future growth and attendance area scenarios. Decisions about whether to build new schools, how they would be funded and whether voter approval would be required would occur through separate facilities planning and budgeting processes.

One of the goals of the Building for the Future process is to evaluate current programs and options while considering how attendance area changes may affect specialized programming.

At this stage, no decisions have been made regarding the creation, relocation, expansion or consolidation of specific programs. Community feedback about language immersion programs and other educational offerings will help inform future discussions as scenarios continue to be developed.

The draft scenarios shared during community input sessions are intended to start conversations and gather feedback. They are not final recommendations.

We recognize that some families are interested in solutions that address enrollment pressures sooner than a potential future school could open. Community feedback on both short-term and long-term needs will help inform future scenario development. At this stage, no decisions have been made regarding interim attendance area adjustments or implementation timelines beyond the overall boundary review process.

At this time, no decisions have been made regarding the grade configurations, size or programming of potential future schools. All options are on the table.

The Building for the Future process is focused on understanding enrollment trends, projected growth and attendance area needs. Questions about school design, grade levels served and program offerings would be addressed through future planning processes if a decision is made to move forward with a new school.

The Building for the Future boundary review began with data collection, enrollment analysis and community engagement during 2025 and 2026. Throughout 2026, we will continue developing and refining boundary scenarios based on data analysis and community feedback. Final recommendations are expected to be presented to the Board of Education in early 2027.

Community engagement will continue throughout the process, and there will be additional opportunities for families, staff and community members to provide feedback before any decisions are made.

Creating more contiguous attendance areas is one of several considerations in the boundary review process. We are also evaluating how attendance area changes affect socioeconomic, linguistic and racial diversity, access to programming, transportation and other factors that influence students' educational experiences.

Our goal is not simply to create cleaner maps. We are working to balance multiple guiding principles and understand how proposed changes may affect students and families across the district, particularly those who may face additional barriers to educational access and opportunity.

The Building for the Future process includes consideration of programming impacts as attendance area scenarios are developed. This includes understanding how boundary changes may affect access to educational programs and services that support students.

We recognize that students have a wide range of academic, behavioral, social and emotional needs. Community feedback, enrollment data and program considerations will all help inform future scenarios. However, the boundary review itself is focused on attendance areas and enrollment planning, and it is not intended to change the supports and services available to students.

Our current focus is on elementary school attendance areas and enrollment patterns. Once that work is complete, we will move into the middle school portion of the boundary review process.

Because middle school attendance areas feed into high schools, any changes made at the elementary and middle school levels can affect high school attendance patterns. For that reason, we are mindful of high school impacts throughout the process. However, we do not anticipate the same level of boundary review or potential adjustment at the high school level that is occurring for elementary and middle schools.

As we continue our work, we will evaluate feeder patterns and consider how proposed changes at the elementary and middle school levels may cascade into high school attendance areas. Community members will have opportunities to provide feedback throughout the process before any recommendations are finalized.

An extension area is a portion of an attendance area that is geographically separated from the main attendance area and assigned to a school outside of its immediate neighborhood. Extension areas were created over time to address enrollment, capacity and other planning needs.

As part of the Building for the Future process, we are evaluating existing attendance area complexities, including extension areas, non-contiguous attendance areas and island zones, to determine whether adjustments could improve alignment with our guiding principles.

MMSD already owns land in the Acacia Ridge and Sprecher Road areas that could potentially be used for future school sites. The purpose of including these locations in the analysis is to understand how future growth and enrollment patterns could be accommodated if additional school capacity is needed.

No decisions have been made regarding whether new schools will be built on either site.

One of the reasons we are conducting this review is to better understand how future enrollment growth, housing development and program needs may affect school capacity across the district. The analysis includes both current utilization and projected enrollment trends.

Questions about 4K expansion, classroom space and building utilization are important considerations, but no decisions have been made regarding specific implementation plans. As we continue refining scenarios, we will evaluate how enrollment, capacity and programming needs can be balanced over the short and long term.

Walkability is one of our guiding principles. As we evaluate attendance area scenarios, we consider proximity to home, natural boundaries and potential barriers such as major roadways and railroad tracks. We also seek to minimize transportation times whenever possible.

Community feedback is especially valuable because families often have firsthand knowledge of neighborhood conditions, traffic patterns and safety concerns that may not be evident through maps and data alone. That feedback will help inform future refinements to attendance area scenarios.

Birth rates are one of several factors included in our enrollment forecasting process. We are also considering housing development, student yield factors, migration patterns and broader demographic trends.

We do not currently have a published comparison of birth-to-kindergarten rates versus overall population growth available as part of the Building for the Future materials.

No decisions have been made regarding the future of any K-2/3-5 paired-school configurations.

As part of the Building for the Future process, we are evaluating current attendance areas, school configurations and program models while considering enrollment, demographics, transportation, neighborhood connections and other guiding principles.

Community feedback will help inform future scenarios and recommendations, but there is currently no predetermined outcome regarding paired schools.

Yes. Birth-rate analysis is one of the factors included in the enrollment forecasting process used for Building for the Future. Our forecasts are based on multiple data sources, including birth trends, current enrollment patterns, housing development and student yield factors.

Because enrollment forecasting looks at multiple variables rather than a single trend, projected enrollment reflects both declining and growing influences across different parts of the district. The result is a more comprehensive picture of how student populations may change over time.