The first method is to do the task internally. This is typically a money saver for a school district, but it is quite time-consuming. In addition, employees assigned would have to have a good understanding of the district’s demographics, boundaries and student distribution, as well as geographic information systems (GIS)
Hire an Outside Consultant
The second method is to employ an outside consultant or consulting firm to analyze the school district and create a new map of attendance zones. The main downside to this method is the time it takes from start to finish. A school district must first shop around and collect bids from different consulting agencies, a process that can take months in itself. Once a bid has been voted on, then the district must wait for the job to be complete, which in some instances can take an entire school year. Once a new map has been created, the school board will then choose to accept or reject it.
Use GIS
Finally, a third method is to employ a geographic information system (GIS) software to help with redistricting, like what we offer at Geographic Information Solutions, LLC. School districts can access our powerful Boundary Exploration & Scenario Testing (BEST) redistricting tool, which helps them make the optimal decisions when redrawing school attendance zones.
With BEST redistricting tool, school administrators have the power to run different attendance boundary scenarios with critical information they need to make informed decisions about school boundaries, school utilization, grade configuration, capacity and many other district related issues. The software is easy-to-use and allows for an unlimited number of boundary scenarios to be drawn and tested to see what the potential impacts would be and the resulting effects. Schools can create boundaries based upon the most up-to-date information available but also measure how those boundaries will hold up into the future based upon likely scenarios. The power to anticipate changes gives schools and stakeholders the ability to maximize the educational potential for children and facilities while minimizing the impact on students and staff. Even attribution of resources to different buildings within the district is simple to visualize and adjust. And best of all, this information is completely transparent and can be easily communicated to the public.
Other Useful Tools