Boundary Process - District

Shawnee Mission Schools

School Boundary Process

The Shawnee Mission Board of Education is responsible for determining enrollment boundaries for each school in the district. A number of factors are used to determine boundaries, including but not limited to building capacity and utilization, demographic studies, enrollment balance, student needs, and the District Strategic Plan. Boundary decisions are governed by Board of Education Policy AD:

Policy AD
The board shall review school attendance areas as needed and make changes as warranted.

The superintendent shall, as needed, prepare a written report for the board concerning changes recommended for school attendance areas for the next school year and the reasons for the recommendations. The board shall consider the recommendations following receipt of the report. The recommended changes shall be made available to the district patrons. The board may schedule a public hearing to seek input on the proposed changes.

Guiding Principles of Boundary Changes

Feeder System
Boundary recommendations should, where feasible, maintain established secondary feeder patterns to support continuity for students and families.
Projected Enrollment/Building Utilization
Boundary recommendations should focus on balancing enrollment so each building is utilized efficiently while not projected to exceed functional capacity for several years.
Fiscal responsibility
The district is supported by local and state tax revenue, and has a fiscal duty to spend resources in a fiscally responsible way. Boundaries should be planned to maximize district resources.

Boundary Work Group

The Shawnee Mission School District administration has committed to using a boundary work group to engage in research/study and to make advisory recommendations to the administration on boundary changes for elementary schools. Specifically, the work group will review and study an enrollment analysis prepared by RSP and Associates, review and analyze the guiding principles of boundary changes, review and analyze public input, and make advisory recommendations on boundary changes.

The workgroup will begin meeting in August 2026.

2026 Boundary Work Group Members
Belinder	Corinth	Highlands	Prairie	East Antioch	Santa Fe Trail
Dr. Steve Yeoman Principal	Kasey Weishaar Principal	Kati Oddo Principal	Kristen Jones Principal	Kristin Bean Principal	Kayla Ratzloff Principal
Molly Schapker PTA President	Jackie Romero PTA President	Brittan Etzenhouser PTA President	Emily Cook PTA President	Danielle Gapske PTA Officer	Jennifer Harms PTA President
Becca O'Brien Educator	Meghan Alt Educator	Michaela Emmott Educator	Ellissa Krause Educator	Megan Hergenrader Educator	Kelly Fritz Educator
Andrew Pfeffer Parent	Jaclyn Penn Parent	Patrick O'Brien Becca Highfill Parent	Andy Rieger Parent	Karlie Cooper Parent	Samantha Monsees Parent
District Representatives		Dr. David Stubblefield, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Christy Ziegler, Chief of Student and Family Services Dr. Sherry Dumolien, Assoc. Superintendent of Special Education and Strategic Initiatives Pam Lewis, Assoc. Superintendent of Leadership and Learning Judd Remmers, Director of Facilities Allison Staroski, Chief Financial Officer Dr. Chris Lowe, Director of Elementary Services Kristie Darby, Director of Title Elementary Services Erin Aldrich, Tomahawk Elementary School Principal Dr. Kelly Capper, Principal Indian Hills Middle School Jessica Schmitt, Principal Hocker Grove Middle School

Boundary Timeline

March 23, 2026	Board of Education Presentation from RSP and Associates Enrollment Analysis
June 22, 2026	Superintendent recommends a boundary work group to the BOE. Boundary Analysis Update
August 7, 2026	Release boundary work group interest to participate form.
August 17, 2026	Form closes at 5:00 PM.
August 19, 2026	Work group members selected by administration and announced.
August 25, 2026	Boundary Work Group Meeting #1 Receive charge, review process. and view enrollment analysis
September 8, 2026	Boundary Work Group Meeting #2 Develop boundary concepts
September 14, 2026	BOE Update Present draft boundary concepts prepared by the work group facilitators
September 22, 2026	Boundary Work Group Meeting #3 Refine concepts to scenarios, Discuss/Consensus; Prepare for public input
September 28, 2026	Public Input #1: SM North Library from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Opportunity for patron feedback
September 28- October 7	Survey open to the public seeking input as part of the ongoing work of the boundary process work group
Septemer 29, 2026	Public Input #2: SM East Library from 6-7:30 p.m. Opportunity for patron feedback
October 5, 2026	Public Input #3: SM North Library from 6-7:30 p.m. Opportunity for patron feedback
October 6, 2026	Public Input #4: SM East Library from 6-7:30 p.m. Opportunity for patron feedback
October 14, 2026	Boundary Work Group Meeting #4 Refine concepts from public input
October 26, 2026	Final Recommendation to BOE Presentation of recommendation for Board consideration and approval.

† All dates are subject to change.

Boundary Work Group Updates

August 25, 2026

The 2026 District Boundary Process Work Group held its first meeting. After introductions, Rob Schwarz from RSP and Associates provided work group members with an overview of the process and reviewed the work group timeline, roles, guiding principles, parameters, and goals for the boundary process. The work group members received and discussed information regarding student residential enrollment and projected enrollment at elementary schools in the district. Work group members began reviewing, discussing, and offering feedback and questions around boundary methods for approaching future work.

The District Boundary Process Work Group will meet again on September 8 to continue building, reviewing, and refining boundary concepts. The work group’s progress will be shared in an update at the Board of Education meeting on September 14. The first 2 of four public input sessions are scheduled for September 28, 3:45-6:30 p.m. at SM North High School and September 29 from 6:00-8:00 p.m at SM East High School in the school libraries.

Comments or questions can be sent to smsdboundaries@smsd.org