The Edmonds school board voted 4-0 on Tuesday to approve new school attendance boundaries, the first changes of their kind in nearly three decades. Board President Nancy Katims was absent, and all members present voted in favor.
A district committee has studied the issue since the start of the year. The new boundaries are meant to even out enrollment across the district and will take effect in fall 2028.
The map sets an attendance zone for Salish Middle School, the district's new middle school, which is scheduled to open that same fall. The district is also moving sixth grade from elementary schools to middle schools. Board members said the plan will give each elementary and middle school a balanced number of students.
District data show that 16 of the district's 24 elementary and middle schools are projected to be above their functional enrollment capacity by 2031, while some schools currently sit below 70% of capacity. Under the new boundaries, only six schools would be over capacity.
More than a dozen parents spoke during public comment, and many said they felt their voices had not been heard in the decision process. Another 15 people submitted written comments, mostly from families at Hilltop, Sherwood and Seaview elementary schools.
Sherwood parents said some students are set to attend four schools in four years because of construction, and that the new map splits nearby neighborhoods among three different schools. Parent Kelsey Reeves said her son has attended Sherwood since kindergarten. "Under the current proposal, instead of finishing his elementary school years alongside his classmates, teachers and community he grew up with, he would graduate with students from Westgate that he has never gone to school with at a temporary school location," Reeves said.
Seaview parents questioned why some students will be sent to Lynndale Elementary, since Lynndale would be closer to reaching capacity under the new plan. At Hilltop, a neighborhood of about 150 families will move to Hazelwood Elementary. Parents said the district is needlessly shifting their children to a school with weaker academic results, noting that many families chose the neighborhood for Hilltop. In spring 2026, about 85% of Hilltop students performed at foundational grade level or above on standardized tests, compared with about 66% at Hazelwood, according to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Hilltop parent Srinath Kotela said a group of parents is exploring legal counsel to review the changes. The group alleges the district is violating its boundary changes policy, which says that "to the extent possible" the district will minimize disruption to students' learning programs, maintain or improve curriculum and keep established neighborhood groupings. "After months of outreach, our voices have not been meaningfully heard," Kotela said. "Our concerns remain unanswered, and there is no transparent feedback loop process."
Some parents said they had submitted alternative maps to the board, while others urged a delay or asked that current students be allowed to finish elementary school at their present schools. Board director Thom Garrard said about 14% of elementary students will be reassigned. "By enacting this plan now, we allow district staff a year and a half to plan for how to make this transition as smooth as possible for all of those students," he said. Full maps are available on the district's website.
