Approve the Contract with Seer Analytics, LLC (SeerAnalytics) for $142,000 to Provide Data Services and Support in the Development of Student Attendance Boundaries

Recently, SeerAnalytics provided valuable services and support to the District in successfully developing student attendance boundaries for Sergeant Smith Middle School and four (4) other regional middle school boundaries. With the opening of two (2) new high schools in August 2009, seven (7) or more existing high school attendance boundaries will need to be redrawn.

SeerAnalytics proposes to:

• Provide more transparency and credibility in the student attendance boundary process.
• Provide improved boundary options that balance reasonable student seat utilization with the District's desire to minimize student travel.
• Provide improved boundary options that offer various diversity options to help maintain and improve student diversity.
• Assist the District in attaining a framework that fosters community input and communications, while allowing the Board to evaluate important policy considerations in a consistent, rigorous, and quantitative manner.
• Provide the District with a longer range planning horizon that allows a "big picture" view of opportunities to rethink the attendance boundary adjustment process in light of changing economic and demographic conditions, class-size-reduction, concurrency, and the need to become increasingly efficient in the use of scarce resources.
• Assist staff in beginning to quantify potential broader system-wide adjustment of student attendance boundaries with the goal of bringing boundary planning into the strategic planning framework.
• Provide a return on investment of approximately 300% over three years by decreasing transportation costs and better balancing the need for instructional units.

All District Goals and Critical Success Factors.

The amount of $142,000 is funded through Part I of the budget.

SeerAnalytics will present a summary PowerPoint report at a Board Workshop on the topic of long-range opportunities for boundary adjustments. This report will include an initial proforma analysis of utilization and efficiency opportunities, as well as recommendations for improved systems and an enhanced boundary development process.