The Lake Central School Corporation will soon be looking at changes to its elementary school boundaries.
Superintendent Dr. Larry Veracco says the expansion of Bibich Elementary School in Dyer will prompt some adjustments in the fall of 2025, but he says he won't have specific answers for about another year. "We're going to use the then-current data of where kids are to determine which neighborhoods move," Veracco told the school board last week.
He said a main objective will be to take the pressure off of Kolling Elementary in St. John. "Kolling's out of space," he explained. "We've got some of our specialists working out of small closets and sharing conference rooms, where they used to share a classroom, to do that extra support for students."
Veracco said one likely change may be moving Dyer's Castlewood subdivision to Bibich. He adds it could also make sense to have kids in St. John's Walden Clearing neighborhood attend the nearby Clark Middle School, if that can be done without upsetting the balance.
Meanwhile, the new Bibich addition is gradually starting to open. Equipment will be moved into a new four-classroom section Tuesday, and teachers will begin using the rooms Wednesday. Meanwhile, the classrooms they're replacing will be turned into restrooms and a connection to another 10-classroom addition that's also nearing completion.
The school board last week approved more than $700,000 worth of change orders for new furniture for the new and existing Bibich classrooms. Director of Facilities Bill Ledyard said it's designed to encourage mobility and collaboration.
"These desks are very mobile," Ledyard explained. "They can put anywhere from two to eight people in a group. They can move them around. They're going to have a little tote in them, and then they have these tote carts."
All of this comes as the Lake Central School Corporation's enrollment has dropped by 126 students since October. Director of Business Services Rob James says the number of students moving into and out of the district was pretty balanced. But 62 students graduated mid-year, and another 33 left for home school or online learning options.
