YOUR OLATHE SCHOOL IS STAYING OPEN. COULD YOUR CHILD STILL HAVE TO SWITCH?
OLATHE, Kan. – Briarwood Elementary is staying open. Some of its students could still be assigned to a different school next fall.
Under two of the three boundary proposals for the Black Bob area, part of Briarwood’s current attendance area south of 143rd Street would go to Green Springs Elementary. The third proposal keeps those addresses at Briarwood.
A school attendance boundary determines which school serves your home address. As Olathe Public Schools prepares to close six schools at the end of this school year, it is redrawing some of those lines. A family could stay in the same house and find its children assigned to a different school in August 2027.
District officials got a chilly reception from some parents at Black Bob Elementary on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Parents interrupted the presentation several times as staff walked through the proposed boundaries and enrollment projections. One mother raised concerns about access to pre-K.
For a child, a new school could mean a different group of classmates and a different walk to school. For parents, it could mean rearranging drop-off, figuring out who can handle pickup or finding before- and after-school care that works with the new assignment.
What the Three Black Bob Maps Show
Concept 1 shows proposed attendance areas for Briarwood, Brougham and Green Springs. The district projects 430 students at Briarwood, 412 at Brougham and 400 at Green Springs in 2027-28.
Under Olathe Public Schools’ Black Bob Concept 1, part of the current Briarwood attendance area south of 143rd Street would stay assigned to Briarwood Elementary.
Concept 2 expands the proposed Green Springs area north of the Black Bob campus. Brougham and Sunnyside also appear in the map’s color key. The enrollment table projects 420 students at Green Springs and 398 at Brougham.
Olathe Public Schools’ Black Bob Concept 2 would assign part of Briarwood’s current attendance area south of 143rd Street to Green Springs Elementary.
Concept 3 shows proposed attendance areas for Green Springs and Brougham. The district projects 374 students at Green Springs and 358 at Brougham under this option.
Olathe Public Schools’ Black Bob Concept 3 shows proposed attendance areas for Green Springs and Brougham. Part of Briarwood’s current area south of 143rd Street is shaded for Green Springs.
Olathe Public Schools’ Tomahawk Concept 1 would assign a section west of Mur-Len Road and south of Santa Fe Street to Havencroft Elementary. The area around Tomahawk Elementary would go to Briarwood.
Under Olathe Public Schools’ Tomahawk Concept 2, the section west of Mur-Len Road and south of Santa Fe Street and the area around Tomahawk Elementary would both go to Briarwood Elementary.
Olathe Public Schools’ Tomahawk Concept 3 would assign a section west of Mur-Len Road and south of Santa Fe Street to Indian Creek Elementary. The area around Tomahawk Elementary would go to Briarwood.
What the Three Heritage Maps Show
Heritage families can see a difference just north of 151st Street. A section between Interstate 35 and Ridgeview Road is shaded for Madison Place in Concepts 1 and 2. Concept 3 puts that section in Havencroft’s proposed area.
Just east of Heritage Elementary, Concept 1 shows a section assigned to Brougham. Concepts 2 and 3 show that section in Sunnyside’s proposed area. For families in either section, the choice could change which school serves their address after Heritage closes.
Olathe Public Schools’ Heritage Concept 1 shows proposed attendance areas for Brougham and Madison Place. The district projects 412 students at Brougham and 534 at Madison Place in 2027-28.
Olathe Public Schools’ Heritage Concept 2 shows proposed attendance areas for Havencroft, Madison Place and Sunnyside. The district projects 339 students at Havencroft, 499 at Madison Place and 552 at Sunnyside in 2027-28.
Olathe Public Schools’ Heritage Concept 3 shows proposed attendance areas for Havencroft and Sunnyside. The district projects 402 students at Havencroft and 552 at Sunnyside in 2027-28.
Havencroft starts at 259 students this year, according to the boards. Its first-year projection differs by 63 students between Concepts 2 and 3. Madison Place, which has 374 students this year, would add 160 under Concept 1 or 125 under Concept 2.
What the Two Scarborough Maps Show
The first map shades the neighborhoods around Scarborough Elementary for Sunnyside. In the second, the district also shows a proposed Madison Place attendance area to the west. Families just west of Scarborough and south of 151st Street can see the difference by comparing the two maps.
Sunnyside has 312 students this year. Both options project 240 more students next fall, even though the shaded areas differ. The projections on each board are totals for the schools shown.
Olathe Public Schools’ Scarborough Concept 1 shades the area around Scarborough Elementary for Sunnyside. The district projects 552 students at Sunnyside in 2027-28.
Olathe Public Schools’ Scarborough Concept 2 shows proposed attendance areas for Sunnyside and Madison Place. The district projects 552 students at Sunnyside and 499 at Madison Place in 2027-28.
How to Check Your Address
Find your home on each map, then match the proposed shading around it to the school named in the legend. The dashed red lines show current elementary boundaries. If your home is close to a line, ask district staff which side of the proposed boundary your address falls on.
Olathe Public Schools says its regular bus eligibility rules and internal transfer request process will apply. Families who could be assigned to a different school can ask whether their new trip would qualify for bus service or whether a transfer request is an option.
Black Bob’s Spanish Immersion program is scheduled to move to Arbor Creek Elementary. Families in the program can ask the district how the move would affect transportation for their child.
Why Olathe Is Redrawing the Boundaries
The Olathe Board of Education voted 7-0 on Oct. 1 to close Black Bob, Heritage, Scarborough, Tomahawk and Walnut Grove elementary schools and Indian Trail Middle School at the end of the 2026-27 school year.
District officials cited declining enrollment and financial pressure. They told the board that enrollment had fallen by about 2,650 students since the 2019-20 school year, representing roughly $19 million in funding. The district says it serves about as many elementary students as it did in 2001 while operating nine more elementary schools.
When Families Can Weigh In
Scarborough and Heritage families met with the district Nov. 9, followed by Black Bob and Tomahawk families Nov. 10. School calendars list Walnut Grove’s meeting from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, and Indian Trail’s from 7 to 8 p.m. that evening.
The district has scheduled three larger community meetings. Elementary boundaries will be discussed at 5 p.m. and middle school boundaries at 7 p.m. each day.
Monday, Nov. 16 – Olathe South High School auditorium, 1640 E. 151st St.
Tuesday, Nov. 17 – Olathe East High School auditorium, 14545 W. 127th St.
Wednesday, Nov. 18 – Olathe East High School auditorium, 14545 W. 127th St.
The district says it will present the same information on all three dates and give families an opportunity to submit feedback online.
Administrators expect to bring a recommendation to the board in December. A board vote is anticipated in January 2027, with the new boundaries taking effect for the 2027-28 school year.
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