Boone County families at Longbranch Elementary in Union could see new school boundaries as early as next year. The Board of Education agreed Thursday, Sept. 10, to place elementary redistricting on its October agenda.

The move came after parents and staff packed the board meeting's public comment period to describe conditions at Longbranch, which is at 108% capacity with 989 students in a building designed for 900, according to LINK nky. Redistricting was not on the agenda but came up repeatedly during public comment.

At the same meeting, the board adopted its $319.6 million working budget for the 2026-27 school year. The spending plan folds in $2.2 million in new revenue from the board's property tax rate, according to LINK nky.

The budget anticipates $146.1 million in local revenue. The state is expected to contribute $116 million, including Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funding. Federal funding accounts for $1.2 million. The district starts the year with roughly $51 million in reserves, and 6.8% of the $319.6 million in budgeted expenditures is set aside for contingencies.

Overcrowding at Longbranch prompts redistricting discussion

Music teacher Regina Melvin, who has taught at Longbranch since the school opened in 2010, told the board that students now receive arts programming only once every eight school days. Most other Boone County elementary students get arts once a week. Longbranch's music and arts classrooms have been converted into regular classrooms for more than a year, Melvin said at the Sept. 10 meeting.

A parent petition calling for action on overcrowding had gathered nearly 500 signatures by the time of the meeting. Longbranch parent Jocelyn Santiago pushed back on the district's plan to add four mobile classrooms, telling the board at the Sept. 10 meeting, "Four mobile classrooms may add classroom seats, but they do not expand our cafeteria, gym, hallways, restrooms, playgrounds, or other shared spaces," as reported by WCPO.

Board Member Jesse Parks said the school is waiting on two mobile units to house four additional classrooms. Parks cautioned against redrawing boundaries countywide, citing the impact on homeowners who bought property based on school assignments.

Superintendent Dr. Jeff Hauswald framed redistricting and a separate transportation overhaul as competing priorities. A district committee is halfway through a yearlong study of bus route efficiencies, dealing with rising fuel costs and more than 35 unstaffed routes.

Board Member Carolyn Hankins Wolfe said she was not aware of the full scope of challenges at Longbranch until the Sept. 10 meeting. She indicated the October discussion would focus on exploring options rather than holding a vote.

Parent Antoine Smith-Rouse asked the board to consider redistricting all Boone County elementary schools, not just Longbranch. The district's facilities plan calls for a new 600-student elementary school on the Ballyshannon Middle School campus, but construction is not planned until 2030.

The board will take up the redistricting discussion at its October meeting. A specific date has not been announced.