FARGO, ND – The Fargo Board of Education is set to review a comprehensive plan this week detailing significant elementary school attendance boundary changes on the city’s north side, a move prompted by declining enrollment and the future construction of a new elementary school.
The proposal, which will be presented by Superintendent Dr. Cory Steiner and the administration, is being introduced as a first reading at the Board meeting. A final vote on the plan is scheduled for the November 12, 2025, Board meeting.
Addressing Enrollment Decline and Facility Utilization
The changes stem from a long-range facility plan, approved in June 2024, that highlighted projected enrollment declines across several northside elementary schools over the next five years. To address this, the Board approved the construction of a new elementary school on July 8, 2025, intended to serve students currently zoned for Horace Mann, Roosevelt, and Madison elementary schools.
The new boundaries are designed to redistribute students to achieve balanced enrollment and improve facility utilization across the area. For instance, the plan shows Washington Elementary’s current utilization at 67% would increase to a proposed 84% in the first year of the boundary changes (2026/27). Meanwhile, the new Northside Elementary, set to open in Fall 2028, is projected to be nearly full with 96% utilization by the 2029/30 school year.
Key Boundary Impacts
The proposed changes, which only affect elementary school zones and leave secondary boundaries untouched, include:
- Horace Mann-Roosevelt and Madison Elementary: These schools will see reduced attendance areas starting in August 2026, ahead of the new school’s opening in 2028.
- Washington Elementary: This school will see an expansion of its attendance area in the north, including the removal of a non-contiguous portion from Longfellow Elementary’s zone.
- McKinley Elementary: No adjustments are planned for McKinley’s attendance boundaries.
Grandfathering and Transportation
For families affected by the change, the administration has laid out a clear grandfathering process.
Students currently enrolled at Horace Mann and Roosevelt in grades 2–4 who are impacted by the proposed boundary shift will be permitted to complete their elementary education at their current school. To do so, families must submit a grandfathering petition between October 29, 2025, and the deadline of April 1, 2026.
However, a major change for grandfathered students will be transportation. While the district currently provides transportation, families who choose to petition their child to remain at their previous school will be solely responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from school. District-provided transportation will only be available to students residing within the boundary of their new, designated elementary school.
Fargo Public Schools will launch a comprehensive communications plan following final Board approval in November, including direct mail, website postings, and social media updates, to ensure all affected families are fully informed of the changes.
