Rock Creek USD 323 won’t accept out-of-district students due to capacity challenges

A new Kansas law takes effect this year requiring K-12 schools to declare how many students it can accept from outside its boundaries.

In the case of Rock Creek USD 323 Schools, which have doubled in size over the past decade, Superintendent Joan Simoneau says no out-of-district students will be accepted in the 2024-25 school year.

The middle school is over capacity despite the district moving fifth grade to the middle school from St. George and Westmoreland Elementary Schools. Simoneau says the district has started a strategic long-term building plan, with the goal of being proactive to accommodate for growth.

Some school officials like Wamego USD 320 Superintendent Rob McKim say the new law takes away some of the local control communities have had over school districts previously.

While the Wamego USD 320 school district has room to take out-of-district students for the 2024-25 school year, McKim fears the law will have unintended consequences for schools down the road, tied to class sizes and the amount of staffing required to accommodate students.

Wamego received over 100 out-of-district students this year but also has been short a kindergarten teacher, after a resignation prior to the start of the school year.

Under the new law, students can be denied admission if a district does not have enough space, though districts can refuse to reenroll students in the following years for too many suspensions, expulsion or absenteeism.