Hundreds of families will send their children to a school that might be different from what they planned just last year.
The Sweetwater Union High School District recently released new boundaries that look to balance out their middle and high school populations.
“We have schools that are just at capacity, and part of our hope and our intent here is to really bring a balance,” said SUHSD spokesman Manny Rubio. “We have a community [Chula Vista] that’s exploded in terms of population and housing and all that over the last several years, but we haven’t made adjustments at our schools.”
SWEETWATER’S NEW SCHOOL BOUNDARIES
The last time the boundaries were redrawn for the district’s high school and middle schools was in 2005.
They’ll change again this summer for students entering the 7th and 9th grades. Rubio said a student doesn’t have to switch if they completed at least one year at their school.
"We’re just very frustrated," said Eastlake resident and mother Teresa West. She said they bought their house partially based on the nearby schools.
"We were really hoping that after [our daughter] went through Eastlake Elementary School, that she would move on to Eastlake Middle School and then further on to Eastlake High School,” said West.
10News examined the school rankings. Eastlake High School is ranked 209. Some of their incoming freshman will now attend Bonita Vista High which is ranked 323.
Some students who would have attended Otay Ranch High School, which is ranked 195, will now attend Hilltop High which ranked 461.
Now her daughter, who will be in the 7th grade next school year, will be forced to attend Bonita Vista Middle School.
“She’s upset about it,” said West.
10News spoke with a real estate agent who said the new boundaries could also impact property values, even for homeowners who do not have children.
A home’s value could increase if it was moved into an area where a “better school” is perceived to be.
Likewise, a home’s value could also decrease if it was moved into an older school zone.
West also argued she has paid Mello Roos that helped build the Eastlake schools.
Rubio countered, "Mello Roos happens at all the schools that are in our area."
