Dear Members of the Boone County Board of Education,

We are writing on behalf of concerned Longbranch Elementary parents and families regarding the continued overcrowding at our school and the need for a comprehensive short-term plan for the 2026–2027 through 2029–2030 school years.

We appreciate the district's long-term facilities plan, including the proposed new middle school and anticipated conversion of Ballyshannon Middle School to an elementary school in 2030. However, our children are attending Longbranch today, and they cannot wait four years for meaningful relief.

We recognize the district's plan to add four classrooms through two new mobile buildings. While these units may provide temporary classroom space, we do not believe trailers are an appropriate solution to Longbranch's capacity problem through 2030. They are a temporary measure, not a comprehensive plan.

Adding classroom seats does not increase the overall school capacity. Longbranch serves nearly 1,000 students, and overcrowding affects the cafeteria, restrooms, library, instructional and intervention spaces, counseling and student-support services, hallways, arrival and dismissal, and playground and recess areas. Our current playground and recess spaces do not adequately support a student body of this size.

The effects of overcrowding are already evident. All unified arts instruction, with the exception of physical education, is being delivered from carts rather than dedicated instructional spaces, significantly limiting both the educational content that can be provided and the overall student experience. The school initially planned to add an additional first-grade classroom after the start of the school year in an effort to reduce class sizes. However, there is no appropriate and safe space within the building to accommodate that classroom. As a result, all seven first-grade classrooms will remain over capacity.

We recognize and deeply appreciate the tremendous effort of Longbranch's administration, teachers, and staff to provide our children with the best possible education despite these constraints. Their dedication, however, cannot create space where none exists. They should not be expected to compensate for a school operating beyond the capacity of its building and campus.

This level of overcrowding also places a significant and ongoing strain on our administration, faculty, and staff. Serving a student population beyond the building's intended capacity requires additional coordination, supervision, student support, and resources every day. While our staff continues to rise to these challenges, relying on their ability to continually absorb the effects of overcrowding is not a sustainable solution. Our educators deserve an environment that allows them to focus their time and resources on educating and supporting students, not continually managing the limitations of an overcrowded campus.

We are also concerned that the district's proposed 2030 solution is being presented as the primary long-term answer to Longbranch overcrowding while the five-year facilities plan is still under final review by the Kentucky Department of Education. The district's communication identifies the location of the proposed middle school only as being “in the vicinity of Longbranch Elementary School and Cooper High School.” We respectfully request greater transparency regarding this project, including the specific proposed location, the status of any necessary land acquisition, the current state-approval process, the anticipated timeline for each major step, and what contingency plans exist if approval, land acquisition, construction, or the anticipated 2030 opening is delayed.

These details are particularly important because the proposed new middle school and subsequent conversion of Ballyshannon are currently being presented as the long-term path to reducing Longbranch's enrollment. Families deserve to understand how certain that path and timeline are, as well as what the plan will be if either changes.

As shown in the attached enrollment and capacity comparison (Exhibit A), Erpenbeck, Stephens, Burlington, and New Haven are all operating below their published capacities and currently house preschool classrooms that are scheduled to relocate to the district’s new early-childhood center for the 2027-2028 school year, freeing additional classroom space. Meanwhile, Longbranch is already serving approximately 975 students in a building designed for 900, and the district’s June 2026 facilities presentation projected that enrollment could approach 1,300 students by 2030–2031. These figures demonstrate why waiting until 2030 is not an acceptable solution. The Board must evaluate how existing and soon-to-be-available capacity at neighboring schools can provide meaningful relief for Longbranch starting with the 2027–2028 school year.

We respectfully ask the Boone County Board of Education to develop and publicly communicate a specific, actionable short-term plan for Longbranch Elementary that addresses the entire campus, not simply the number of classroom seats. This plan should explain how enrollment and educational spaces will be managed until 2030, how student services and shared facilities will adequately support the growing student body, what additional actions will be triggered if enrollment continues to increase, and how mobile classrooms will remain a truly temporary measure.

We also respectfully request that Longbranch Elementary overcrowding be added as an agenda item for the September 10, 2026 Boone County Board of Education meeting so that these concerns, the status of the proposed long-term solution, and potential short-term solutions can be discussed publicly.

We are not asking the district to abandon its long-term plan. We are asking for greater transparency regarding that plan and, equally importantly, a meaningful and actionable solution to address Longbranch's needs until a permanent solution is in place.

Four years represents most of a kindergartner's elementary school experience. These students deserve appropriate classrooms, adequate cafeteria and recess spaces, sufficient support services, and a campus capable of supporting them throughout those years, not simply the promise of relief in 2030.

What is the Boone County Board of Education's comprehensive plan for Longbranch Elementary between now and 2030? What is the contingency plan if the proposed 2030 solution does not proceed on the anticipated timeline?

We respectfully ask the Board to address these questions and implement a meaningful short-term solution during the 2026–2027 school year.

Sincerely,

Parents and Community Members Advocating for Longbranch Elementary