The Winona school board plans to consider changing elementary school attendance area boundaries to optimize elementary school populations and reduce transportation costs.

At its regular meeting Thursday night, the board directed district administrators to contract with TeamWorks International of White Bear Lake, Minn., to provide the district with GIS mapping and an analysis of student population and demographic patterns. This information will form the basis for evaluating current attendance areas and bus routes, and identify possible changes.

Board members pointed out that the need for reconsidering elementary school attendance areas went well beyond the necessity of redrawing boundaries in the event that an elementary school is closed.

Board member Michelle Langowski said that reassigning students would help eliminate or minimize the need for combination classes in the district. "We will know where the students are and where we think they will fit," she said.

Board member Greg Fellman said he believed the study would "pay for itself" in savings in transportation costs.

Superintendent Paul Durand reminded the board that current district policy requires all attendance boundary changes to be announced by April 1 to take effect for the following school year. He cautioned that completing the GIS study, evaluating the data, creating options and gathering public input might make that date impractical. Board members acknowledged this as a complicating factor and said they will consider revising the policy to allow themselves more time to make a decision and still have changes and the resultant savings in place as soon as possible.

A comprehensive student mapping system can identify where young people are living, but it won't assure they will be attending district schools. Durand suggested the board consider the fact that a number of students living in the Winona school district are enrolled in neighboring districts. "I don't think we've ever seriously considered driving our buses into other districts," Durand said, noting that buses from across district borders routinely pick up District 861 residents.

Board member Ted Hazelton enthusiastically endorsed offering transportation to students wishing to attend Winona public schools. "They're doing it to us," Hazelton said. "What goes around comes around."