At the December 8 school board meeting, Fargo Public Schools officially decided to move school boundaries. The move is expected to help free up space in overpopulated schools like Davies and Discovery by the 2022-23 school year.

This was a controversial decision, with many differing strategies and viewpoints. Initially, FPS planned to build an 8th and 9th grade center on the south side of town to reduce numbers at those far south schools. This plan was canceled last spring on a 5-4 vote because of fears of economic downturn due to COVID.

This new plan shifts North’s boundaries south, practically a couple blocks away from South. North’s new territory takes the north-of-Prairiewood neighborhood, which used to be South’s neighborhood.

South’s boundaries will now include the Kennedy neighborhood, which used to send its students to Davies.

Some parents at the school board meeting were upset with these changes, saying they were upset that their kids wouldn’t be able to walk to school anymore.

Bussing costs will increase by $180,000, which isn’t as much as a new school would cost. Although the option of the new school would be very expensive and risky, some parents and school board members believed it would be a better choice in the long-run. This would decrease numbers in the schools that are overpopulated because of the development in the far south of Fargo.

The school board ultimately chose to shift boundaries now because of the uncertainty and to help balance the socio-economic statuses of each school.

Online school is also another problem for this to consider because there is still overpopulation when a large portion of the students are being homeschooled/doing online school because of the pandemic. The Forum states that about 60% of the kids doing their work at home will possibly return, but it could always increase if the situation gets significantly better.