New K-8 School Attendance Area Adjustments Approved for the 2026-27 School Year 

Lakeville Area Schools is committed to supporting students and families through attendance area changes in the following ways.

• Ongoing Communications: Families moving schools will be communicated with by the district and their new school with important transition details. School staff will continue personalized outreach to transitioning families throughout the school year to share student successes, school highlights, etc.
• Meet Your New School Events & Tours: Each elementary and middle school will host “Meet Your New School” events this spring, parent information sessions, and school tours.
• Family Collaboration: School leaders are dedicated to collaborating with families to understand the needs of their students and help them maintain and build connections with peers and staff. A parent/caregiver guide will be shared with families with tips on supporting students during school transitions.
• Special Education Supports: Affected special education families will be offered an IEP meeting to review services, address any needs related to the school change, and ensure a coordinated transition to the new school. Case managers will connect directly with families. Students receiving similar services will be placed in the same classrooms when possible. 
• Building Connections: All schools have programs and practices in place to ensure every student has connections with a caring adult and their peers. At the elementary level, this happens primarily through a student’s homeroom. At the middle school level, this happens primarily through advisory and a ‘First Friends’ program.  
• Counseling Supports: School counselors will be available to provide individualized or small group support to any students finding the transition difficult. 
• Additional Resources: Families will be able to access the district website for additional information, FAQs, etc., all available in multiple languages.

No, families with students already approved/enrolled in intra-district transfer can stay at their approved intra-district transfer school. 

No, families with students already approved/enrolled in a school through open enrollment can stay at their approved school.

Yes, you can apply for intra-district transfer, but please note that approvals are subject to space available at building and grade levels based on priority guidelines. Learn more about the intra-district transfer process.

Yes, but you will need to provide your own transportation for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year. Starting in the 2026-27 school year, transportation will be provided for your student based on the following criteria:

• K-5 students who live 0.8 miles or more from their elementary school

• 6-12 students who live 2 miles or more from their secondary school

• Students who live in a designated safety zone

• Special Education students by IEP team decision

Please contact the Enrollment department at enroll@isd194.org or 952-232-2048 for more information. 

“Multiple movers” are resident students who were moved to one school due to boundary adjustments for the 2024-2025 school year and are being moved again due to boundary adjustments to another school at the same level (elementary or middle) that is different from where they attended in 2023-2024 school.

(Eg: Eastview Elementary in 2023-24 > Highview Elementary in 2024-25 > Cherry View Elementary in 2026-27) 

• Does not include residences, families or students moved in adjustments prior to 2024-2025 (the most recent of which was fall of the 2014-2015 school year)

• Does not include students who are being moved back to the school they originally attended (Eg: Eastview Elementary in 2023-24 > Highview Elementary in 2024-25 > Eastview Elementary in 2026-27)

• Does not include families who chose to move schools in any of these years through the intra-district transfer process

• Does not include moving from an elementary school to a middle school

Growth in specific neighborhoods is creating challenges for some of our elementary schools. As a whole, our elementary schools are about 76.6% full. Projections indicate that this number will remain relatively stable over the next 10 years.

But, individual buildings range from 58.7% to 105.6% full. This means some schools have plenty of space while others are overcrowded.  

Based on current projections, changing elementary school attendance areas can fix this imbalance with limited need for changes in the future.

Growth in specific neighborhoods is creating challenges for some of our middle schools. Overall, our middle schools are 86.7% full and growing. 

Some are already close to or over ideal capacity and range from 80.2% to 93.7%. 

Growth is happening mostly in specific neighborhoods, so middle school attendance areas need to be adjusted to prevent overcrowding at specific schools beginning next year. 

Additionally, projections indicate significant middle school enrollment growth over the next 10 years. The school board is currently considering options for a long-term solution to increase middle school space.

In Lakeville Area Schools, a school works best when it’s at about 75-80% full. Once a school passes 85% of its capacity: 

• Spaces can no longer be used the way they were designed. 
• Class sizes rise.
• Space, resources and scheduling are restricted, which limits the district’s ability to provide high quality teaching and learning aligned to best practices. 
• Overcrowded common spaces, like hallways and cafeterias, pose safety concerns and reduce students’ time for lunch, bathroom breaks, and passing between classes. 

Keeping schools around 75-80% full allows them to operate as intended and leaves room for new families moving into our district.

Because some residential areas of Lakeville and its surrounding communities are growing fast and others are not, the district has created occupancy targets and is aiming for the following:

• Schools serving areas of the district with growth: Start at approximately 70% full (occupancy) so they have room to grow.
• Schools serving areas of the district that are not growing: Start at approximately 80% full (occupancy) to make best use of space.

The district’s goal is to match each school’s size to the growth expected in neighborhoods in order to lessen the need for future changes to attendance areas.

Safety zones are considered and our transportation providers were consulted in the adjustment process.

Free transportation is provided to: 

• Elementary students who live 0.8 miles or more away from their school
• Middle school students who live 2 miles or more away from their school 
• Students in an identified safety zone (which will be reviewed upon approval of updated attendance areas) 

For over a decade, the district assigned new housing developments to schools one neighborhood at a time without changing the existing school attendance areas. Over time, this created a “patchwork” of attendance areas.

The last major change to attendance area boundaries happened for the 2024–25 school year when Highview Elementary opened. At that time, the district shared multiple draft maps and gathered family input. Solutions were brought to the school board for consideration and the final solution was chosen with the understanding that more changes would be needed within a few years because growth was continuing. In fact, the growth happened even faster than expected.

Last year, the school board delayed larger changes to attendance areas by adjusting boundaries only for new housing developments. This helped in the short term, but larger changes are now necessary for the 2026-27 school year.

For over a decade, the district assigned new housing developments to schools one neighborhood at a time without changing the existing school attendance areas. Over time, this created a “patchwork” of attendance areas.

The last major change to attendance area boundaries happened for the 2024–25 school year when Highview Elementary opened. At that time, the district shared multiple draft maps and gathered family input. Solutions were brought to the school board for consideration and the final solution was chosen with the understanding that more changes would be needed within a few years because growth was continuing. In fact, the growth happened even faster than expected.

Last year, the school board delayed larger changes to attendance areas by adjusting boundaries only for new housing developments. This helped in the short term, but larger changes are now necessary for the 2026-27 school year.