'Trying to adjust to the realities that we face': Hockinson School District considers moving fifth grade from elementary to middle school

May 19-Hockinson School District has 2,080 students, which makes it one of the smallest districts in Clark County. Yet close to half of those students - 924 - attend Hockinson Heights Elementary, making it one of the biggest public elementary schools in the state.

With school staff, as many as 1,050 people are on a campus each day that's feeling the strain of overcrowding.

As enrollment numbers continue to grow, the district is considering moving fifth grade from Hockinson Heights to Hockinson Middle School for the 2027-28 school year in hopes of alleviating some of that pressure. The district's Citizens Advisory Committee is collecting data from two recent community surveys to present to the school board during its June 8 meeting for discussion, Superintendent Steve Marshall said.

The proposal comes a little more than a year after an $87 million bond measure failed in February 2025. It would have funded construction of a second elementary school.

"What the bond measure, I think, represented to our elementary school was hope," Marshall said. "When the bond went down in defeat ... we pivoted from 'Can we make this work for a couple years?' to 'OK, what other options do we have to relieve the population pressure?'"

Marshall said an estimated 150 students would move from Hockinson Heights to the middle school. In addition, the statewide transitional kindergarten cuts will reduce the district's program by 30 students.

Combined, that would subtract 180 students to bring the elementary school's enrollment down to 740 students, which is still about 250 students more than the average Clark County elementary school, Marshall said. But it would alleviate some pressure on the aging Hockinson Heights campus, which has 24 portable classrooms and several other smaller buildings around the main building. The layout of the single-story campus often means long distances for students to walk, resulting in lost instructional time, Marshall said.

Traffic also could see an improvement along Northeast 164th Street, a two-lane road that backs up during drop-off and pick-up hours.

"It doesn't solve the issue, but it does provide the campus with some breathing room," Marshall said.

Hockinson Middle School, meanwhile, has 482 students enrolled this year.

Community feedback

After the most recent parent survey closed May 4, the district published results in a newsletter. A combined 73 percent of respondents said they either found moving fifth grade to Hockinson Middle School in 2027 to be a reasonable solution, or that they had concerns but are "open to it with the right student supports." Another 22 percent said they don't believe the change is a reasonable option.

Of the 480 respondents, about 62 percent were parents of elementary school students and 40 percent were parents of middle school students.

The survey also revealed parent concerns about the proposed change. The No. 1 issue, according to Marshall, is the concept of fifth-graders being at the same school with eighth-graders on an integrated campus that has only three wings. Some parents said it would be developmentally inappropriate for 11-year-olds to be on the same campus with 14- and 15-year-olds.

Marshall said it's too early to say how the district would address that issue but noted campus improvements would need to happen between now and 2027, such as adding a covered play structure and portable classrooms to the campus.

"To be fair to our middle school, it was not designed for four grades," Marshall said. "It has one gym, for instance. It has three wings, not four. It's designed for three grades. However, we're not living in the ideal right now. We're trying to adjust to the realities that we face."

Parents also mentioned potential crowding issues in hallways, increased traffic around the middle school and a loss of leadership opportunities for fifth-graders on a K-5 campus.

"Those are the main concerns that came up," Marshall said.

The Citizens Advisory Committee will present a recommendation on the fifth grade transition and student cellphone policy during the school board's June 8 meeting.

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